Dana Corp. Fined $125 Million For Polluting

MANHATTAN (CN) – Auto parts-maker Dana Corp. and 40 affiliates will pay $125 million to settle federal environmental charges of dumping toxic waste at six Superfund sites in five states. Dana is in bankruptcy; the settled fling allows the United States to seek the money in bankruptcy court.     Toledo-based Dana filed for bankruptcy in 2006. The USA then sued it in bankruptcy court, then withdrew its claims from that court and resubmitted them in Federal Court.     Dana burned toxic waste at the Cornell Dubilier Electronics Superfund site in South Plainfield, N.J., contaminating it with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other chemicals, and endangering people, plants and animals. Dana also contaminated the Superfund site in Hastings, Neb., where it had a manufacturing plant; and Superfund sites in Southington, Conn.; Claypool and Elkhart, Ind.; and Tremont City, Ohio.     The $125 million, if the government ever gets it, will be used to clean up the sites Dana contaminated, and if any money remains, to clean up or assess other sites.