"Bayer Lawyers Tell Judge MIC Unit Is Safe"

"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Lawyers for Bayer CropScience are trying to convince a federal judge the company's Institute plant is safe, even as a federal agency that investigated the facility continues to call for more inspections before Bayer's controversial methyl isocyanate unit is allowed to resume production.

Bayer lawyers have provided U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin with copies of two reports by a company consultant they said concluded the MIC unit met requirements of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

But on Friday -- the same day Bayer provided those reports to Goodwin -- the U.S. Chemical Safety Board wrote to OSHA and EPA to repeat its recommendations that both agencies conduct comprehensive, plant-wide inspections before the MIC unit is restarted."

Ken Ward Jr. reports for the Charleston Gazette February 22, 2011.