FOX19.com and FOX19 News, weather, traffic, and sports for Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky | Cognis Strike Having Effect On Environment
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The 2005 environmental impact track record for a Winton Place company includes allegations of serious air and water quality violations.
About 200 union members now on strike at the Cognis plant say mishaps and even a fish kill are due in large part to their absence.
And now an environmental group agrees.
Out on the picket line for almost a year now, United Steel workers local 14340 have kept up with what they call environmental and industrial violations. The allegations are enough to get the attention of Ruth Breech and the Cleveland based Ohio Citizen Action group. For months they've investigated and analyzed the Lanxess plant in Addyston and now Cognis is on their watch list.
Ohio Citizen Action believes the 2005 strike of the more than 200 steel workers has had a negative community and environmental impact compared to the year before. For example, 18 malfunctions were reported at the plant in 2004, 65 reported in 2005 and 2006. In 2004 zero spills into waterways and 7 since the strike.
A Cognis spokeswoman declined an interview but in a written statement said, "the number of safety incidents is basically the same in 2004 and 2005. But our goal is zero incidents and we're committed to ongoing improvement in our safety record."
In October the Environmental Protection Agency settled with Cognis and imposed a $44,000 fine for alleged ozone violations. Cognis insists the company continues to make progress with replacement workers but they've also sat down with the union for discussions on average once a month since the walk out.
A company called Golden Hope bought Cognis and now controls much of the operation. Union reps say they're inviting Golden Hope into the discussion for what they "hope" will turn into a new contract.
Report by: Gene Cox
For the Web: Cliff Jenkins
