Oil firms \'to pay millions\' following pollution breaches

Two firms in the US have agreed to pay charges following allegations that they flouted air quality regulations, it has emerged.

Both Frontier Oil and Wyoming Refinery will pay a total of $141 million (£97.9 million).

Frontier Oil is to stump up $1.23 million in civil penalties and a further $127 million to upgrade its pollution control systems at its plants in Wyoming, Cheyenne and Kansas.

Similarly, Wyoming Refining has stated that it will spend $14 million on enhancing its emissions control, along with a fine of $150,000.

Catherine McCabe, acting assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said that the settlements "demonstrate EPA’s continuing efforts to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide, which are the largest sources of pollution from refineries."

She added that these pollutants can cause "severe respiratory problems and contribute to childhood asthma."

Another oil firm that has been in the news in recent months is US-based Advanced Technologies, which won the right to discharge waste supplies into the Munson Slip, Louisiana in December.