Maine DEP sues company over cleanup of contaminated Orrington site

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 25, 2026

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is suing the owners of a site in Orrington, alleging they’ve failed to properly clean up contamination. Mallinckrodt operated a chemical manufacturing plant along the Penobscot River between 1967 and 1982. While under Mallinckrodt, the site discharged between six and 12 metric tons of mercury. The plant shut down in 2000 when then-owner HoltraChem Manufacturing Co. declared bankruptcy. In 2022, a judge ordered Mallinckrodt to pay at least $187 million to clean up the region. Since 2013, Mallinckrodt US LLC has been owned by Covidien, subsequently acquired by Medtronic. Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals became an independent company via a spinoff from Covidien in 2013. Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals recently merged with Endo, then split into Keenova and Par Health.