Solvay S.A.
Profile
Solvay is a chemicals and plastics company headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. It was founded in 1863 by Ernest Solvay to make sodium bicarbonate from limestone and salt water. The company’s factories have polluted waterways such as the groundwater wells in Spinetta Marengo, Italy, and the Delaware River in Paulsboro, New Jersey. In 2005, an Italian lab worker named Pietro Mancini discovered that the company had covered up evidence of cancer-causing hexavalent chromium leaking into the Spinetta Marengo water supply from one of their industrial facilities which manufactured resins for paints and plastics. Similar evidence was found by Delaware Riverkeeper Network in New Jersey in 2013 that Solvay’s plants had been leaking PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ into the local drinking water system.
Chemicals and advanced materials.
Violations
| Top 5 Offense Groups (Groups Defined) | Penalty Total | Number of Records |
|---|---|---|
| environment-related offenses | $73,962,540 | 72 |
| competition-related offenses | $40,800,000 | 1 |
| safety-related offenses | $699,380 | 44 |
| employment-related offenses | $110,000 | 2 |
(September 30, 2022)
Stories
Activism
USW Members Persevere, Ratify Contract at Solvay Chicago Heights Plant
United SteelWorkers | November 10, 2021
Local 7-765-01 members at Solvay’s Chicago Heights, Ill., plant ratified a four-year agreement on Aug.13, 2021, nearly 22 months past the original contract expiration date.
New Jersey Is Making Companies Pay for Toxic Contamination — Shining a New Light on a Little-Known Offender
Sharon Lerner | The Intercept | March 27, 2019
In the absence of federal regulations, New Jersey is the first state to set safety levels for PFAS contamination and make companies pay for clean up.
- A Community Voice
- Alliance for Affordable Energy
- Climate Reality New Orleans
- Coalition Against Death Alley
- Delaware Riverkeeper Network
- Healthy Gulf
- Justice and Beyond
- Louisiana Bucket Brigade
- Louisiana League of Conscious Voters
- New Orleans Office Sierra Club
- Poor Peoples Campaign
- SouthWings
- Sunrise Movement, New Orleans
- RISE St. James
- 350 New Orleans
& Lawsuits
Delaware settles with Solvay Specialty Polymers over PFAS contamination claims in Prices Corner
Julia Rentsch | Delmarva Now | February 16, 2021
The July 2020 discovery of hazardous chemicals in soil and groundwater near a New Castle County chemical plant resulted Tuesday in the company reaching a settlement with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
Investigation of Closed Solvay Polymer Facility
State of Delaware | February 16, 2021
The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control today announced a settlement with Solvay Specialty Polymers USA, LLC to address perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) allegedly released from the company’s facility in the Marshallton area of New Castle County.
Solvay Impedes Research Into Unknown PFAS by Threatening Testing Lab With Legal Action
Ryan Felton | Consumer Reports | February 10, 2021
Independent scientists must now go through the company itself in order to obtain necessary tests for unknown PFAS
Attorney General, DEP Commissioner Announce Two New Natural Resource Damage Lawsuits over Contamination of Riverfront Sites
State of New Jersey | November 10, 2020
Suit Against Solvay Demands Accountability for Company’s PFAS Chemicals Found in Public and Private Water Sources.
New Jersey Sues Solvay Over Alleged Water Contamination From New PFAS Compound
Ryan Felton | Consumer Reports | November 10, 2020
The manufacturer's own research suggests the compound can cause liver damage, according to emails obtained by CR
Environmental Impact
Rosignano Solvay: White Beaches, Chemistry, Politics And Pollution
January 22, 2021
Italy is doing worst amongst the EU Member States for environmental progress. The white beaches of Rosignano Solvay are a perfect example.
Minority and low-income communities may face greatest threat from cancer-causing gas
Joce Sterman, Alex Brauer, & Andrea Nejman | News Channel 9 abc | January 11, 2021
An invisible gas posing a potential cancer risk in towns all over America may be disproportionately affecting minority and low-income communities. Spotlight on America first investigated the colorless, odorless gas known as ethylene oxide last September. Now, new details are emerging about the toll Ethylene oxide, or EtO, takes on marginalized groups, as some communities are rising up to fight against it.
New PFAS Compound in N.J. Water May Be More Toxic Than Older One, Regulators Say
Ryan Felton | Consumer Report | November 10, 2020
Government scientists analyzed research by Solvay, which uses the chemical, and found link to liver damage, emails show
Attorney General, DEP Commissioner Announce Two New Natural Resource Damage Lawsuits over Contamination of Riverfront Sites
Gurbir S. Grewal | New Jersey Department of Law & Public Safety | November 10, 2020
As part of the State of New Jersey’s continuing commitment to protect public health and restore natural resources degraded by those who refuse accountability, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe today announced ....
New PFAS Chemical Contamination Discovered in New Jersey
Sharon Lerner | The Intercept | June 4, 2020
Eight variations of a newly identified group of PFAS compounds were found near a Solvay plant in West Deptford, New Jersey.
The Cleanup Of Solvay Coke Site
Jeramy Jannene | Urban Milwaukee | July 24, 2019
Komatsu Mining’s 60-acre, $285-million South Harbor Campus proposal for the east end of E. Greenfield Ave. is approved for development, but before that can start the site needs to be environmentally remediated.
PERI Pollution Indexes
Based on United States Environmental Protection Agency data ranking the top 100 worst polluters.
& Relations
California Members Strike for Workplace Safety, Justice and Respect
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers | October 24, 2017
More than 80 IAM production workers at Henkel Aerospace Bay Point in Pittsburgh, CA and more than 40 workers at Solvay Industries in Santa Fe Springs, CA have taken to the strike lines as the two employers refuse to address worker safety and shop floor concerns.
Financials
Note: Most recent list is not always the most complete list.
Croctail Subsidiary Tool using the CorpWatch API - This API extracts the subsidiary relationship information from Exhibit 21 of companies' 10-K filings with the US SEC.
- CIK numbers link to SEC database (EDGAR)
- Section 21 links to SEC list of companies.
- Solvay S.A. Croctail Profile
Click here for the latest data.
Political Influence
Open Secrets - Tracks corporate lobbying of US politicians.
OpenSecrets.org Profile of Solvay SA
Import & Export Data
ImportYeti - Shipping Tracking Tool - Bill of ladings are public information that are too cost prohibitive, challenging to obtain and difficult to use for the average joe. ImportYeti's goal is to solve that problem.
- ImportYeti Profile of Solvay SA
& Evasion
As a poisoned town sought justice, top chemical giant executive moved millions to tax havens
Scilla Alecci | ICIJ | October 5, 2021
Leaked records show Bernard de Laguiche stashed Solvay shares in offshore accounts as the company faced water contamination claims in Italy and the US.
Solvay families hide in tax havens
The time | Newswep | October 4 , 2021
Several Solvay families have set up a tangle of mailboxes in the most notorious tax havens, such as Panama and the British Virgin Islands. There they have parked their shares in the listed chemical group Solvay, one of the largest companies in our country.
Solvay to Buy Cytec Industries for $5.5 Billion
Gabriele Steinhauser | Wall Street Journal | July 29, 2015
Belgium-based chemicals company Solvay SA SLVYY 5.68% on Wednesday said it is buying U.S. counterpart Cytec Industries Inc. CYT -6.85% for $5.5 billion in a bid to become a major player in the production of light-weight materials for airplanes and high-end cars.
Procurement
Solvay contracts with the U.S. Federal Government (via USA Spending)