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CALIFORNIAN SENTENCED FOR ILLEGAL WASTE TRANSPORTATION
Release Date: 08/23/2001
Contact Information:
FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, AUGUST 23 , 2001
CALIFORNIAN SENTENCED FOR ILLEGAL WASTE TRANSPORTATION
Luke C. Hester 202-564-7818 / [email protected]
Gary Rasmussen of San Diego, Calif. was sentenced on Aug. 13 for his conviction on two counts of illegally transporting hazardous waste in violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and on one count of conspiracy to violate the law. He was sentenced to serve five months in prison and five months in a community confinement center. He also must reimburse EPA $50,689 in cleanup costs and pay a $3,000 fine Rasmussen illegally transported hazardous waste from Oceanside, Calif. to an unapproved site in Chula Vista, Calif. without a hazardous waste manifest. The wastes were discovered in a container at a vacant lot in Chula Vista. The wastes consisted of crystallized picric acid, tetrahydrofuran and sodium metal, all of which are potentially explosive. In addition, nitroethane, potassium dichromate, nitric acid, copper cyanide, potassium cyanide, sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid were found in the container. The reactive wastes could have exploded, if disturbed, and cause a fire. A toxic cyanide gas cloud could have been released if the acids and cyanides mixed together as a result of an explosion, a serious risk to human health. Rasmussen’s co-conspirator, Marvin Hutchinson, who along with Rasmussen oversaw the loading of the container with the hazardous waste, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate RCRA and to the unlawful transportation of hazardous materials. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI, the federal Department of Transportation’s Inspector General, and the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health Services. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego, Calif.
R-145 ###
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