Honeywell Resolves Federal Investigation Into Permitting and Storage Issues at its Metropolis Facility

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Mar 11, 2011, 03:41 ET

MORRIS TOWNSHIP, N.J., March 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Honeywell (NYSE: HON) announced today that it has resolved a U.S. government investigation into permitting and storage issues at its Metropolis, Ill., facility.

As part of a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, the company will pay a total of $12 million in fines and supplemental environmental projects to resolve the matter, which involved the storage of a regulated material without a proper permit. The company self-reported the incident. No one was injured as a result of exposure to the regulated material, and there was no environmental impact. The company separately settled a parallel civil investigation with the State of Illinois and paid a fine of $690,000.

Honeywell self-reported the permitting issue to the appropriate regulatory agency in 2006, and has since acquired the proper permit and constructed a new storage facility. The company has begun reprocessing the material and expects to have the work completed by 2013, three years ahead of the government's deadline. The materials are KOH (potassium hydroxide) muds, which are generated by the facility’s air emissions control systems.

"We have taken all the necessary steps to remedy the situation," said Larry Smith, plant manager of Honeywell's Metropolis facility. "Since 2006, the company has invested more than $10 million on projects that directly support health, safety, and the environment in Metropolis, and performance in these areas has improved significantly. In the second half of 2010 alone, there were no lost-work time injuries, and OSHA-recordable injuries fell by more than 60 percent. During the past four months, cumulative, year-over-year production has risen by more than 60 percent.

"Additionally, our oversight record shows that we have been operating in a safe and environmentally sound manner," Smith said.

The Metropolis facility converts uranium ore into uranium hexafluoride, a compound used to produce enriched uranium for use as fuel in nuclear power plants.

Honeywell International (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; automotive products; turbochargers; and specialty materials. Based in Morris Township, N.J., Honeywell's shares are traded on the New York, London, and Chicago Stock Exchanges. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywellnow.com.

This release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that we or our management intends, expects, projects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based upon certain assumptions and assessments made by our management in light of their experience and their perception of historical trends, current economic and industry conditions, expected future developments and other factors they believe to be appropriate. The forward-looking statements included in this release are also subject to a number of material risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to economic, competitive, governmental, and technological factors affecting our operations, markets, products, services and prices. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results, developments and business decisions may differ from those envisaged by such forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Honeywell