Merck pollutes creek with poisonous chemical
More than 20 gallons of potassium thiocyanate, a cyanide chemical, were released into a Pennsylvania stream by Merck & Co., killing more than 1,000 fish and poisoning as much as eight miles of water. The chemical was being used to produce an experimental vaccine at Merck’s West Point facility.
Instead of sending the chemical to its pretreatment plant, as Merck protocols instruct, operators at the vaccine plant simply poured it down the drain. The chemical made its way from there to a local waste-treatment plant and was then released into Wissahickon Creek.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has begun an investigation to determine the extent of the pollution. An EPA spokeswoman said that Merck may be fined as much as $32,500 per day after the investigation is complete. Merck says that it is conducting its own internal investigation and plans to take disciplinary action against the workers responsible for the chemical dump.