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PA ILLEGAL BURIAL OF CHEM. WASTES LEADS TO CRIMINAL CONVICT.

Release Date: 5/31/96
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PA ILLEGAL BURIAL OF CHEM. WASTES LEADS TO CRIMINAL CONVICT.

FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, MAY 31, 1996

ILLEGAL BURIAL OF CHEMICAL WASTES LEADS TO CRIMINAL CONVICTION FOR ONE ARKANSAS MAN AND FELONY CHARGES
FOR TWO OTHERS

The illegal burying of thirty 55-gallon drums of chemical waste, including styrene and acetone, at the Mountain Home, Arkansas, facility of Custom Quality Gel-Coat Inc., also known as C.Q. Inc., led to the May 10, felony plea agreement by John Thomas Anglin for failing to report illegal disposal of hazardous wastes under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the indictment on May 17, of two officers of the corporation, Walter H. Schluterman and Ivan L. Due, on one felony count of violating CERCLA, two felony counts of violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and one felony count of conspiracy. C.Q. manufactured "Gel-Coat" which is a colored plastic coating painted on the outside of fiberglass boat hulls to protect them from water damage. Rather than pay to properly dispose of hazardous waste chemicals which resulted from the manufacturing process, C.Q. officials chose to bury them in an illegal dump on the grounds of the facility. The illegal dump was uncovered during a site inspection by the state as C.Q. was in the early stages of building a storage silo over the dump site. Anglin faces a possible three years in prison and a $250,000 fine under the terms of the plea agreement. Schluterman and Due each face up to 23 years in prison and $1 million in fines if they are convicted on all counts. The case was investigated by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI, and state and local authorities in Arkansas.

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