Prime Tanning continues to dispute claims linking it to health problems in the area.

On Friday, the company issued a statement regarding hexavalent chromium, also known as chromium 6. Two local residents sued Prime Tanning this week, claiming that chromium 6 from Prime Tanning sludge spread on farm fields caused tumors.

Prime Tanning, which has a factory on Stockyards Expressway in St. Joseph, was purchased by National Beef on March 9.

“Our review of available records indicates that we have purchased and used only trivalent chromium in the tanning process since acquiring the facility,” the statement said.

Trivalent chromium, also known as chromium 3, is a safe product. Chromium 6, however, is a known carcinogen.

For many years, Prime Tanning gave farmers sludge left over from the process of tanning leather. The sludge contains waste from hides — manure, hair, fat and proteins, according to Dr. Nicholas Cory, director of the Leather Research Laboratory in Cincinnati.

The lawsuit charges that chromium 6 became airborne when it was applied to the fields and that nearby residents became sick because of exposure to the compound.

Prime Tanning suspended land application of sludge on Wednesday.

Business editor Susan Mires can be reached at susanm@npgco.com.