Item 3. Legal Proceedings
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Asbestos-Related Matters of Union Carbide Corporation
Union Carbide Corporation (“Union Carbide”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, is and has been involved in a large number of asbestos-related suits filed primarily in state courts during the past several decades. These suits principally allege personal injury resulting from exposure to asbestos-containing products and frequently seek both actual and punitive damages. The alleged claims primarily relate to products that Union Carbide sold in the past, alleged exposure to asbestos-containing products located on Union Carbide’s premises, and Union Carbide’s responsibility for asbestos suits filed against a former Union Carbide subsidiary, Amchem Products, Inc.
For additional information, see Part II, Item 7. Other Matters, Asbestos-Related Matters of Union Carbide Corporation in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, and Notes 1 and 15 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Environmental Proceedings
On May 17, 2021, the Company received a civil complaint from the State of Texas ("State") on behalf of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, filed in the 250th District Court of Travis County, Texas. The suit alleges environmental violations at the Company's Freeport, Texas, site involving several air emissions events, which allegedly occurred at the site between 2016 and 2021. The State is seeking monetary and injunctive relief to prevent recurrence. Discussions between the Company and the Texas Office of the Attorney General are ongoing.
On December 16, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a complaint and proposed consent decree with the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey ("District Court") on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") relating to environmental contamination at the Lower Passaic River Study Area Superfund Site in New Jersey. The EPA filed an amended complaint and proposed consent decree on January 17, 2024. The proposed consent decree includes a requirement that 85 settling defendants, including the Company’s Essex Chemical Corporation subsidiary ("Essex"), make a collective payment of $150 million for the EPA’s past and anticipated future response costs, with Essex’s share of the group settlement costs being $1.15 million. On January 31, 2024, the EPA filed a motion for approval and entry of the consent decree. On December 18, 2024, the District Court approved and entered the consent decree. The District Court's decision has been appealed to the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
In October 2023, EPA Region 6 conducted an inspection of the Company’s Louisiana Operations under the EPA’s Risk Management Program ("RMP"). The inspection was initiated due to an incident at the Company's Glycol-2 unit in Plaquemine, Louisiana, on July 14, 2023, as previously disclosed by the Company. The EPA published its inspection report on January 26, 2024. On January 3, 2025, the Company received a Notice Letter from the EPA’s enforcement branch, which formally alleged 21 violations of RMP and Clean Air Act requirements and offered the Company an opportunity to confer with the EPA. The Company expects to engage with the EPA to discuss the Notice Letter.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
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Table of Contents
Dow Inc. and Subsidiaries
The Dow Chemical Company and Subsidiaries
PART II