By April Stanley
Benton, IL – Federal authorities say Honeywell International has been fined $11.8 million after pleading guilty to a felony count of knowingly storing hazardous waste without a permit at its Metropolis facility.
The U.S. Department of Justice says Honeywell entered the plea Friday in federal district court in Benton.
Federal officials say EPA agents searched Honeywell's Metropolis facility in April 2009 and found nearly 75-hundred illegally stored drums that contained radioactive and hazardous waste. The EPA says the storage practices put employees at risk of exposure to the materials.
The Metropolis plant is the only facility in the U.S. to convert natural uranium into a component for nuclear fuel.
