ASHLAND, INC. PLEADS GUILTY TO ENDANGERING EMPLOYEES
UNDER THE CLEAN AIR ACT

MINNEAPOLIS, MN.- Ashland, Inc. pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to criminal charges related to a May 16, 1997 fire and explosion at its former Minnesota refinery, the Department of Justice announced today. As part of the plea, Ashland agreed to pay more than $7 million in fines and restitution.

Ashland pled guilty to two criminal counts that charged it with negligent endangerment under the Clean Air Act and submitting a false certification to environmental regulators. Ashland also agreed to a deferred prosecution for a violation of the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) of the Clean Air Act.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Ashland has agreed to pay restitution to the victims. The primary victim, a former Ashland employee and member of the Emergency Response Team (ERT), will receive $3.5 million and medical coverage for him and his family, and each of the other four Ashland employees injured in the fire will also receive $10,000.

"This case embodies the Justice Department's commitment to holding accountable environmental offenders for their criminal deeds that harm both people and the environment," said Tom Sansonetti, Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division.

Ashland will also pay a criminal fine of $3.5 million; sponsor a workshop at a national petroleum conference dealing with the Clean Air Act's New Source Performance Standards for petroleum wastewater systems; take out full-page notices in the two major Twin Cities newspapers acknowledging their guilt and how the case was resolved; pay $50,000 to each of the three local fire departments that responded to the fire; and add another $50,000 to their own ERT budget.

Ashland has also agreed to upgrade all of its process sewers, junction boxes and drains at the St. Paul Park refinery (now owned by Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC, a joint-venture between Ashland and Marathon Oil Company) to help ensure this type of incident never again occurs. This project is estimated to cost $3.7 million.

This case arose out of a fire and explosion that happened on a day when workers at the company's refinery were pumping hydrocarbons into the refinery's sewer system for the purpose of treatment and recycling. The sewer system was required to have manhole covers that were sealed to prevent vapor emissions. For years, plant personnel had run a pipe from a crude oil unit exchanger across a dirt road and under one of the system's manhole covers directly into the sewer. This allowed hydrocarbon vapors to escape from the manhole, reach an ignition source, and flash into a large fireball.

Ashland personnel, including the plant's ERT, responded to the scene along with several fire departments from nearby towns. The initial fire was suddenly extinguished just as additional ERT members were responding to the fire-fighting effort. Shortly thereafter, a large eruption of liquid hydrocarbon shot out of the manhole. The liquid came into contact with another ignition source, and immediately vaporized into a fireball engulfing the ERT teams and the surrounding area. Several Ashland employees were injured, one very severely.

During today's guilty plea hearing, Ashland admitted it knew the manhole cover was not sealed, as required, when it drained the hydrocarbons to the sewer and that it negligently allowed a hazardous air pollutant or extremely hazardous substance to be released, placing another person in imminent danger or death or serious bodily injury. Ashland also admitted that it submitted a certification to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in July 1997 that falsely stated that the company's sewer system was in compliance with the Clean Air Act, although they failed to disclose the unsealed manhole cover, the resulting fire or the extensive corrective action undertaken in response to the fire.

The case is the result of an investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency's Criminal Investigation Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota and the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice.

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