News In Brief

Diamond Shamrock to be fined for dumping PCBs

A $2.3 million fine levied against Diamond Shamrock Corporation for allegedly dumping 7,018 barrels of PCBs in Texas may be the largest issued by the Environment Protection Agency, an official says.

The proposed fines include $2,335,796 for improper disposal and $32,000 for improper storage, marking, and record-keeping for the polychlorinated biphenyl materials, said a spokesman for the EPA's regional office in Dallas. PCBs were banned in 1979 as hazardous to health.