Appeals court upholds fine over RI mercury storage

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9K9MCTO0.htm

The Associated Press December 23, 2010, 10:10AM ET

PROVIDENCE, R.I.

A federal appeals court has upheld a conviction against Texas-based Southern Union gas company for illegally storing mercury at a rundown building in Rhode Island.

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston also affirmed an $18 million penalty imposed against the company last year for the illegal storage. The company had been keeping the mercury, removed from old gas regulators, at the building in Pawtucket without the required permit.

The mercury was exposed to the public in 2004 when vandals broke into the building and dumped the substance at a nearby apartment complex. Scores of people were either displaced or reported health problems from the mercury exposure.