From staff and wire reports

Air-pollution fine will be $81,000

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency said Friday it reached an $81,000 settlement with Givaudan Flavors Corp. in Bond Hill over air pollution violations.

The agency said the company agreed to the civil penalty, and to comply with air permit rules and study odors from its plant in nearby Carthage.

A company spokesman didn't return a call for comment. Spray dryers at the plant emit acetaldehyde, a hazardous air pollutant under Title V of the federal Clean Air Act. OEPA said the company violated regulations by not obtaining permits within the required time.

Negotiators meet in Mason lockout

Representatives of Ube Automotive North America and the United Auto Workers met for the first time Thursday since the aluminum-wheel maker locked out workers Monday at its Mason plant.

Nothing was resolved, said Wayne Reynolds, UAW regional representative. The Japanese-owned company stopped about 300 hourly workers from returning to work Monday after rejecting the company's contract offer. The old agreement expired at the end of October. No further meetings are set, Reynolds said. Company representatives didn't return calls for comment.

Injury premiums to rise next year

The clock is ticking for Ohio employers looking to lock in workers' compensation insurance premiums that are going up next year.

The premiums are slated to rise 9 percent and will no longer include a hefty credit.

Employers hoping to minimize their insurance bills by joining group insurance plans or state discount programs must do so by the end of the year to have their savings kick in on their next payment.

In May, the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation suspended the 75 percent "one-time premium dividend" it had offered regularly since 1996. A company that was billed for a premium of $1,000 would have paid only $250 after the credit.

The state bureau was able to offer the credit out of surplus returns from stocks, bonds and other investments.