A case being taken by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) against a Shannon-based pharmaceutical firm was yesterday adjourned to September for the serving of a book of evidence.
The German-owned Schwarz Pharma firm is accused of nine breaches of its Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) licence.
Initially the prosecution against the company was taken by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). However, after a District Court judge heard an outline of the evidence against the company in March, he deemed the case too serious to be heard at District Court level.
As a result, the prosecution is being taken by the DPP and the matter will be heard in the Circuit Court later this year, when the company will face fines of up to €10 million.
At the company's previous appearance, the court was told Schwarz Pharma would be pleading guilty to the nine alleged breaches.
The court was told that air emissions from the plant last August containing suspected cancer-causing substances were found to be 36 times the legal limit. The company is also facing two charges of breaching air emission limits and of filing misleading reports with the EPA.
Six days after the District Court appearance in March, the company decided to suspend certain production processes which could give rise to emissions exceeding the levels in its IPC licence.
The partial shutdown lasted for six weeks before the company recommenced production last month.
During the intervening six weeks, the company developed an enhanced emissions control solution.
