VICTORIA’S environmental watchdog has charged a company over pollution linked to a toxic spill in Wangaratta in late 2011.
The EPA has taken legal action against Nuplex Industries following a chemical leak at its Gibson Street factory on December 19, 2011.
The incident forced the evacuation of 120 nearby residents as a pungent plume escaped from the plant.
The prosecution follows an investigation launched at the time of the spill with the initial hearing set for February 11 at Wangaratta Court.
The Nuplex factory, which manufactures water-based polymer resins for the building and construction sector, has been earmarked for closure.
It announced last September it would shut the site over the next two years with the loss of up to 20 jobs.
Nuplex’s Australasian regional president Sam Bastounas said at the time it would be too expensive to upgrade the plant to manufacture a wider range of items and production would be transferred to other factories.