Ala. foundry pleads guilty to hazardous waste charges, fined $3.5M

Sept. 26 -- Union Foundry Co., a division of McWane Inc., must pay a $3.5 million criminal fine, perform a $750,000 environmental project and serve five years´ probation for its guilty plea on federal hazardous waste and safety violations.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama sentenced company, which has a foundry in Birmingham, Ala. The company admitted that it violated the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and an Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulation.

The foundry allowed employees to treat dust containing lead and cadmium without a permit. The dust came from an air filtration unit used to control pollution from melting scrap iron. The OSHA violation involved the August 2000 death of an employee due to the lack of a safety guard on a conveyor belt.