A provincial court judge has fined a former Cargill employee $7,500 for tampering with three waste-water samples in 2012 from the High River meat slaughter plant.
An agreed statement of facts said Pushp Pal Singh tampered with three treated waste-water samples containing phosphorus by adding a substance to the samples that reduced the amount of phosphorus in the samples before they were sent for laboratory analysis.
The water from the beef processing plant is treated before it is discharged into nearby Frank Lake. Phosphorus has the potential to cause environmental harm by creating conditions that can reduce oxygen required for aquatic life.
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Alberta Environment limits the amount of phosphorus that can be discharged from the plant to the lake.
Earlier this year, Cargill was fined $80,000 for failing to immediately report the incidents.
One of Singh’s jobs at the plant was to conduct a waste-water treatment study project in an effort to improve the efficacy of the phosphorus removal process.
“Mr. Singh knew that Cargill was required to monitor phosphorus in its waste water and was familiar with the monitoring process,” according to a letter between Singh’s lawyer and the crown prosecutor.
In February and March of 2012, Singh added alum directly into the samples. The samples were then sent to a laboratory for analysis as if they were untampered samples.
In April of 2012, Singh admitted to Cargill managers he had tampered with the samples and resigned.
There is no evidence that the phosphorus levels exceeded the approval limits in February, said the statement of facts.
