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PA INDICTMENTS IN HAZARDOUS WASTE CASE

Release Date: 02/04/97
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PA INDICTMENTS IN HAZARDOUS WASTE CASE

FOR RELEASE: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1997

WASHINGTON COMPANY AND OWNER INDICTED FOR HAZARDOUS WASTE VIOLATION

On Jan. 22, Waste Disposal Inc. and its owner, John Pike Sr., were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Western District of
Washington in Seattle on felony charges for illegally storing over 80,000 gallons of hazardous waste at an unpermitted facility in
violation of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The company is a hazardous waste transporter that serves
western Washington State. As one of its services to hazardous waste generators, it offers a profile and designation of
hazardous wastes. The indictment alleges that for several years, Waste Disposal had received hazardous wastes which the
company had not properly designated. It is further alleged that from May 1, 1994 to Feb. 1, 1996, Waste Disposal stored
hazardous waste in a 300,000 gallon tank that it had not leased from the Port of Aberdeen, Wash. By May 1995, the company
had allegedly accumulated over 80,000 gallons of hazardous waste in the tank. Sampling by EPA showed the waste to be
solvent and benzene contaminated waste water. Benzene is a hazardous waste which has been linked to the development of
cancer in humans. The investigation was conducted by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division.

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