Shannon firm stops most production over emissions

A Shannon pharmaceutical firm yesterday suspended most of its production following concerns over air emissions.

The move by Schwarz Pharma Ltd comes five days after a District Court was told that emissions containing suspected cancer-causing substances up to 36 times the legal limit were detected during an inspection last August.

The company faces fines of up to €10 million in the Circuit Court after a judge deemed the case too serious to be heard in the District Court.

The court was told last week that the company was pleading guilty to nine breaches of its Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) licence.

A public meeting is to be held in Shannon tonight. However, ahead of the meeting, the German-owned company issued a statement yesterday confirming it is "suspending those production processes which cause air emissions at its plant in Shannon".

It went on: "The company has chosen to take this action to modify its manufacturing process to comply with the requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency and to address the concerns expressed by local residents."

The managing director of Schwarz Pharma Ltd, Dr Bernie Harten, said: "The company has chosen to take this action as we are keen to comply with the required environmental standards. We expect this work will take about three weeks. In the meantime, the 170 employees at the plant will be engaged in training and other matters."

A company spokeswoman confirmed last night that production would not fully stop at the plant. The company also moved to reassure the community that all necessary steps were being taken to ensure the plant is fully compliant with its EPA licence.

In a statement it said: "Many of the non-compliance issues identified by the EPA in the August 2004 audit have already been fully remedied with the approval of the EPA, while the remainder are currently at an advanced stage.

"Schwarz Pharma is absolutely committed to ensuring that all necessary resources and expertise are provided to ensure that full compliance is achieved."

Shannon resident Don O'Sullivan yesterday discussed issues arising from last Thursday's court case with Dr Harten. He said: "The statement from the company is very positive. Dr Harten was very forthcoming and gave an undertaking to attend Wednesday's meeting unless told otherwise by legal advice."

Cllr Tony Mulcahy (FG) said: "I welcome the decision by the company to stop the processes and I expect them to co-operate fully with the EPA and Clare County Council."

The company statement added that it was committed to the upgrade of the Shannon site. "The implementation of the €70 million site master plan is well under way, and over €8 million will have been spent on environmental related projects by the end of 2005."