WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Chemical company DuPont has agreed to pay nearly $400 million to settle environmental lawsuits ahead of its planned merger with the Dow Chemical Co.

The News Journal in Wilmington reports (http://delonline.us/2vuAsms ) the Delaware-based company agreed last week to pay more than $50 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the federal government and the State of Virginia over the release of mercury from a former facility in Waynesboro, Virginia.

Earlier this year, DuPont agreed to pay $335 million to settle roughly 3,500 lawsuits connected to the release of a toxic chemical used in the production of Teflon, which was once one of DuPont's premier products.

DuPont and Dow announced Friday that they plan to close on their $150 billion merger at the end of the month.