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PA THREE PLEAD GUILTY TO CLEAN AIR ACT VIOLATIONS

Release Date: 12/13/94
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PA THREE PLEAD GUILTY TO CLEAN AIR ACT VIOLATIONS

FOR RELEASE: MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1994

THREE PLEAD GUILTY TO CLEAN AIR ACT VIOLATIONS DOING ASBESTOS DEMOLITION WORK AT ARKANSAS PLANT

On Nov. 14, William S. Dorst, Harold M. Humble, and Audie G. Harris pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas to violations of the Clean Air Act. Charges by EPA against the three men stemmed from their involvement in asbestos demolition work that occurred between August 1989 and Dec. 5, 1989 at the MacMillan Petroleum Refinery located at Norphlet, Ark. The men face sentences of up to one year imprisonment and a maximum fine of $100,000 for their misdemeanor pleas. Sentencing should occur within 60 days of entry of the pleas. William Dorst was vice president of Nor-Ark Industrial Corp., which was formed for the purpose of purchasing from the bankruptcy estate and then demolishing and scrapping the former MacMillan Refinery. Nor-Ark purchased the refinery in early 1989 and sold the scrapping rights to much of the facility to HBH Enterprises, Inc. (HBH), also doing business as East Texas Scrap Processors (ETSP), on Aug. 3, 1989. Harold Humble was the on-site supervisor for Nor-Ark and as such Nor-Ark's highest ranking employee at the MacMillan site, overseeing all demolition activity including the demolition work performed by HBH. Audie Harris was the HBH foreman during the MacMillan scrapping activities. Most of the metal structures demolished at the facility were covered with friable asbestos insulation material. All three men are charged as operators of a stationary source containing at least 260 linear feet of friable asbestos material on pipes and with 160 linear square feet on other facility components. The three were charged with knowingly demolishing that stationary source in violation of the asbestos emission standards and with knowingly causing asbestos to be emitted from that stationary source.

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