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PA L.A. COMPANY AND PRESIDENT CHARGED WITH ADDITIONAL CFC CRIMES
Release Date: 04/18/97
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 1997
L.A. COMPANY AND PRESIDENT CHARGED WITH ADDITIONAL CFC CRIMES
On April 8, a federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicted Omega Refrigerant Reclamation Corp. (OMEGA) and Dennis R. O'Meara, owner and president of the company, for three additional violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and U.S. Customs importation laws in a superseding indictment. Omega's primary business was the importation, reclamation and resale of used gas refrigerants. The new indictment charges Omega and O'Meara with three new counts of selling used refrigerant gases without reclaiming them to the purity standard specified in the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute Standard # 700-93 as required under the federal Clean Air Act. In addition, Omega and O'Meara remain charged with four previous counts for allegedly importing CFCs without federal permission. The importation of CFCs was banned in the United States on January 1, 1996 under the provisions of the Montreal Protocol. It has been scientifically established that the release of CFCs into the atmosphere causes lasting harm to the stratospheric ozone layer which protects people from skin cancer and other harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation. The case was jointly investigated by EPA's Criminal Investigations Division and the U.S. Customs Service with assistance from EPA's National Enforcement Investigations Center.
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