Philips North America LLC will reimburse American taxpayers more than $700,000 for costs associated with cleaning up a contaminated manufacturing site in Connecticut, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced March 15.
Philips North America will pay $706,175 plus interest to the EPA to pay for the removal of "hazardous contaminants" from the 2.3-acre site of the former Sessions Clock Co. in Bristol, Conn., according to the EPA news release. The settlement was finalized March 3 after a 30-day comment period, the news release reports.
"This case demonstrates that EPA takes its 'polluter pays' principle seriously and performs site cleanups as quickly as we can, while ensuring we recover costs whenever possible," EPA New England Regional Administrator David Cash said in the release. "The funding recovered from this case will be returned to the U.S. Treasury for the benefit of the people we serve."
The Sessions Clock Co. manufactured clocks and clock components at the facility from 1903 to 1959, according to the news release. The company used radioluminescent paint containing radium to make self-illuminating clock faces and dials. In May 1969, Sessions Clock Co. merged with the North American Philips Corporation, now Philips North America LLC.
"Through various investigations with partner agencies, EPA found that, based on the radium distribution over the contaminated area, some radioluminescent paint containing radium from the manufacturing activities was released to the environment," the news release states. "Based on these findings, EPA performed a Removal Action at the site in August 2018 to contain and remove materials that could be harmful to human health and the environment."
More than 250 tons of contaminated soil and other debris was excavated and taken to an off-site facility licensed to store hazardous materials, the EPA reports. The agency installed erosion controls, backfilled the excavation site and rebuilt the bank of the Pequabuck river, according to the release.
The settlement is based on the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), which holds liable parties responsible for cleaning up hazardous waste sites and compensating the costs of cleanup. This agreement is one of many settlements reached under the Superfund program, which EPA uses to identify and remediate abandoned hazardous waste sites.
