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CROZER CHESTER AND STATOIL SETTLE SUIT OVER AIR VIOLATIONS - Settlement includes program to help students with asthma

Release Date: 2/24/1999
Contact Information: David Sternberg (215) 814-5548 & Clarke Rupert (610) 832-6020

PHILADELPHIA - Crozer Chester Medical Center and Statoil Energy Power, Inc. have settled a lawsuit over air pollution violations at Crozer’s medical waste incinerator in Upland, Delaware County, Pa., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,  U.S. Justice Department and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced today.

The settlement resolves the joint federal-state lawsuit alleging that Crozer Chester and incinerator operator Statoil (formerly known as Eastern Power Corp.) violated the federal Clean Air Act and Pennsylvania Air Pollution Control Act.

Under the proposed consent decree filed today in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, Statoil will pay a $250,000 penalty and Crozer Chester will conduct a $250,000 asthma detection and treatment program in the Chester-Upland public schools.

"This settlement equitably resolves past violations and ensures a healthier future for the children of the community," said EPA Regional Administrator W. Michael McCabe.

Air pollutants can trigger asthma attacks. As part of the settlement, Crozer Chester has agreed to fund and conduct an asthma screening and management program for all first, sixth and eleventh grade students in the Chester-Upland public schools.   Students diagnosed as suffering from asthma, or at risk for the respiratory illness, will be referred to programs providing medical care, medication and asthma management services.  A registered nurse and an asthma care manager will be hired for the two-year program.

"We believe that the settlement of lawsuits should benefit the communities where the problems occurred, and are pleased that Crozer Chester has agreed to conduct a program that will help identify and treat asthma in school kids in Chester," said Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary James M. Seif.

"This settlement means that for the first time, school children in the Chester-Upland school district will have guaranteed access to an asthma detection and treatment program," said Lois J. Schiffer, assistant U.S. attorney general for the environment and natural resources.  "That’s good news for the children, their parents and the communities in which they live."

The incinerator, which shut down in March 1997, burned medical waste generated by the Crozer Chester Medical Center in Upland, Pa.  The incinerator emitted several air pollutants, including acid gases (such as hydrogen chloride); particulate matter; and heavy metals, including mercury, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, lead and nickel.  

According to the lawsuit, the defendants violated several state and federal air pollution control requirements.  The alleged violations included not properly venting and controlling emissions, exceeding carbon monoxide emission limits, and failure to meet operation and maintenance standards that ensure the complete combustion of pollutants.  Several inspections by EPA and PADEP revealed holes, cracks and leaks in the incinerator’s air pollution control equipment.

Today’s settlement agreement is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval.  


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