PHARMACEUTICAL firm Sandoz, in Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, yesterday became the first Irish-based company to be registered under the European Union's Eco-Management and Audit System. EMAS encourages companies to go voluntarily beyond the performance necessary to ensure compliance with environmental laws and regulations. Registration is awarded after independent audit, and certification was presented yesterday by the Minister of State Finance, Mr Hugh Coveney.
"From the time our facility was announced in 1989 to the present day, Sandoz has pledged itself to the highest environmental standards," said managing director Mr Winfried Pedersen. He said the plant, which employs 250 people, had invested almost £3 million in safety and environmental measures in the current year.
For legal reasons, Mr Pedersen was unwilling to discuss an accident at the plant in 1995 which has led to a claim by one worker that his health has been affected. The Health and Safety Authority (HSA), which investigated the accident, has also declined to discuss details of the case.
Yesterday, the Cork Environmental Alliance (CEA), said the Office of the Ombudsman had written to the organisation saying that it was not empowered to deliberate on complaints against the HSA. The CEA has now written to Ms Eithne Fitzgerald, Minister of State for Labour Affairs, asking her to release details of the accident.