Kerr-McGee faces fine of $100 million

Monday, Oct. 29, 2001 | 9:37 a.m.

A Henderson company could be hit with one of the largest fines in Southern Nevada history for exceeding federal air pollution standards unless the Environmental Protection Agency gives the company credit for progress it has made to control emissions.

Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp. faces a penalty of more than $100 million after the EPA on Sept. 27 cited the company for failing to control 47 tons of carbon monoxide per year over seven years. The pollution came from a roasting pit in a furnace.

Any penalty levied against the company will factor in profits resulting from the company not removing the pollution as required by federal environmental law.

Kerr-McGee annually produces about 27,000 tons of manganese dioxide used to produce alkaline cell batteries.

Although the company's emissions account for less than 1 percent of the carbon monoxide in the Las Vegas Valley's air, Southern Nevada is listed as having a serious problem from the colorless, odorless gas.

The EPA has negotiated with local industries and reduced penalties as long as company officials are implementing the best available technology to reduce pollution.

Kerr-McGee built the hearth in 1991, before current pollution standards were enacted.

Oklahoma-based Kerr-McGee has manufactured ammonium perchlorate, an ingredient to boost rocket engine performance, in a Henderson industrial park for about five decades.

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