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1W Noe, 1W W (77�4W r 4W most violations would be misde- meanors, for failing to disclose pos- A Ganne" Newspaper sible contamination, the state offi- Tuesday Dec. 18 1979 vias said. + + Vol. Rz However, deliberate withholding of such information from the state by individuals or a company is a felo- ny. Occidental situation, he will not con- sider any criminal action against the S-tcompany unless it were recom- mended by the attorney general. te Sues .0 "We would have to use their evi- dence," Baker explained. "If they recommended criminal action, we would review the situation." For $35 Million The state will seek damages of up to 535 million against Occidental Chemical Co. for pollution allegedly caused by the company's plant in Lathrop, 11 miles south of Stock- ton. There will be no criminal prosecu- tion of Occidental officials by the attorney general, although the possi- bility of such prosecution by the San Joaquin County district attorney re- mains. Spokesmen for the California at- torney .general's office announced today they will go to court to seek the money, including fines going back nearly 10 years. Assistant Attorneys General Harold Eisenberg and Steve Merk- samer said a fine of $6,000 a day, dating from Jan. 1, 1970, will be sought against Occidental for al- lowing contaminants from its Lathrop plant to get into the ground and underground water supply. The particular starting date was chosen because that is when the state's pollution fine law went into effect, they explained. In addition to the fine, which would add up to well over $20 million, Ei- senberg and Merksamer said they will go to court to seek at least $15 million in cleanup operations by the company. Mel Rice, general manager of the Lathrop plant, said he would have no comment on the reported lawsuit until after a press conference sche- duled on the matter today by the attorney general. Occidental officials have been ne- gotiating with the state over how hard the company will be hit in cleanup costs. The attorney gener- al's spokesmen did not allude to that at a news briefing this morning, but the possibility exists that the cleanup matter may be settled out of court. The decision by the state not to file criminal charges came because (See Pollution, Back Page) History of Oxy"s Woes Relating to DBCP Chemical By Dick Clever Of The Record Staff The bombshells have kept coming - for Occidental Chemical Co. since July of 1977, when it was revealed, that several workers in its Lathrop plant were infertile. A chain reaction of revelations since then have aroused public con- cern for the kinds of chemicals pro- duced by Occidental and other manu- facturers and their effects on the environment. naming Shell, Dow and numerous other "John Does" as co-defendants Shell and Dow have filed answers it some cases claiming that should the workers win a judgment, it should be entirely on Occidental's head. Meanwhile, the State Department of Food and Agriculture, having is, sued a temporary ban on the use of DBCP, was pressing forward witf several studies, including one on the chemical's residual behavior in foot: crops. San Joaquin County District ®�� ® Case torney Joseph Baker said that be- At- cause his office has not been making any independent investigation of the Occidental situation, he will not con- sider any criminal action against the S-tcompany unless it were recom- mended by the attorney general. te Sues .0 "We would have to use their evi- dence," Baker explained. "If they recommended criminal action, we would review the situation." For $35 Million The state will seek damages of up to 535 million against Occidental Chemical Co. for pollution allegedly caused by the company's plant in Lathrop, 11 miles south of Stock- ton. There will be no criminal prosecu- tion of Occidental officials by the attorney general, although the possi- bility of such prosecution by the San Joaquin County district attorney re- mains. Spokesmen for the California at- torney .general's office announced today they will go to court to seek the money, including fines going back nearly 10 years. Assistant Attorneys General Harold Eisenberg and Steve Merk- samer said a fine of $6,000 a day, dating from Jan. 1, 1970, will be sought against Occidental for al- lowing contaminants from its Lathrop plant to get into the ground and underground water supply. The particular starting date was chosen because that is when the state's pollution fine law went into effect, they explained. In addition to the fine, which would add up to well over $20 million, Ei- senberg and Merksamer said they will go to court to seek at least $15 million in cleanup operations by the company. Mel Rice, general manager of the Lathrop plant, said he would have no comment on the reported lawsuit until after a press conference sche- duled on the matter today by the attorney general. Occidental officials have been ne- gotiating with the state over how hard the company will be hit in cleanup costs. The attorney gener- al's spokesmen did not allude to that at a news briefing this morning, but the possibility exists that the cleanup matter may be settled out of court. The decision by the state not to file criminal charges came because (See Pollution, Back Page) History of Oxy"s Woes Relating to DBCP Chemical By Dick Clever Of The Record Staff The bombshells have kept coming - for Occidental Chemical Co. since July of 1977, when it was revealed, that several workers in its Lathrop plant were infertile. A chain reaction of revelations since then have aroused public con- cern for the kinds of chemicals pro- duced by Occidental and other manu- facturers and their effects on the environment. naming Shell, Dow and numerous other "John Does" as co-defendants Shell and Dow have filed answers it some cases claiming that should the workers win a judgment, it should be entirely on Occidental's head. Meanwhile, the State Department of Food and Agriculture, having is, sued a temporary ban on the use of DBCP, was pressing forward witf several studies, including one on the chemical's residual behavior in foot: crops.