[CPEO-MEF] Tronox (formerly Kerr-McGee Chemical) settles with U.S. for Henderson (NV) perchlorate cleanup

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

[Kerr-McGee Chemical is now incorporated as Tronox. This press release
gives information on how much the company has spent cleaning up the
perchlorate spill from its Henderson, Nevada facility.]

News Release
Tronox Incorporated

Tronox to Receive $20.5 Million in Settlement with United States 

Oklahoma City, Jan. 17, 2006 ? Tronox Incorporated (NYSE: TRX) today
announced that it will receive $20.5 million in cash from the United
States as a result of the settlement of its lawsuit against the United
States for contribution to the costs of perchlorate remediation at the
company's Henderson, Nev., site. In addition, the United States has
agreed to pay 21% of the future response costs that Tronox may incur on
or after Jan. 1, 2011. The consent decree regarding the settlement has
been approved by the federal court, and the company expects to receive
the cash proceeds within 90 days.

?This $20.5 million settlement will cover a portion of our historical
costs for remediation of former perchlorate operations at our Henderson
site, in addition to providing future funding for part of our costs, if
any, after our insurance policy for this issue terminates at year-end
2010,? said Tom Adams, Tronox Incorporated chief executive officer.
?Environmental stewardship is a priority for Tronox, and we work closely
with appropriate regulatory agencies to actively manage environmental
issues related to historical operations. We have established reserves
for the probable and estimable environmental costs related to legacy
sites and work to mitigate our costs where possible through insurance
coverage and participation by other responsible parties, such as the
U.S. government.?

The U.S. Navy owned the ammonium perchlorate plant and other equipment
at the Henderson site for approximately 10 years, and federal military
and space programs were the primary end users of perchlorate produced at
the plant. Tronox LLC, previously known as Kerr-McGee Chemical LLC,
filed a lawsuit in 2000 to have the court define the equitable portion
of the cost for remediation of historical plant operations that the
government should pay. A predecessor of the company purchased the site
from the U.S. Navy in 1962. In 1998, Tronox discontinued commercial
production of ammonium perchlorate and began initial remediation efforts
under the direction and oversight of the Nevada Division of
Environmental Protection after perchlorate was detected in a spring that
discharges to the Las Vegas Wash.

As of Sept. 30, 2005, Tronox had spent approximately $122 million on
remediation related to historical perchlorate operations. The company
has met the approximately $61 million deductible on an insurance policy
that will cover up to $100 million of the eligible costs for remediation
of perchlorate through the end of 2010.

Provision for Litigation 
Tronox also announced that it expects to record a provision related to
litigation matters concerning the company's historical creosote and
refining operations in the range of $5 million to $7 million after taxes
in the fourth quarter of 2005.

Headquartered in Oklahoma City, Tronox is the world's third-largest
producer and marketer of titanium dioxide pigment, with an annual
production capacity of 624,000 tonnes. Titanium dioxide pigment is an
inorganic white pigment used in paint, coatings, plastics, paper and
many other everyday products. The company's five pigment plants, which
are located in the United States, Australia, Germany and the
Netherlands, supply high-performance products to more than 1,100
customers in approximately 100 countries. In addition, Tronox produces
electrolytic products, including sodium chlorate, electrolytic manganese
dioxide, boron trichloride, elemental boron and lithium manganese oxide.
For information on Tronox, visit www.tronox.com.

# # #

For the original press release and additional information, go to
http://www.tronox.com/media/news/archive/news2006/news_20060117.htm

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org
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