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MAN SENTENCED FOR CLEAN AIR ACT VIOLATIONS IN ALASKA

Release Date: 09/21/2000
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FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2000

MAN SENTENCED FOR CLEAN AIR ACT VIOLATIONS IN ALASKA


Darrell E. Bussell of Lahaina, Hawaii, was sentenced on Sept.18, to three years probation and four months home detention for the illegal handling of asbestos-containing transite pipe in Alaska. Bussell pleaded guilty to a felony Clean Air Act violation in August. The felony plea resulted from Bussell’s involvement in the handling of asbestos-containing transite pipe during a construction project. In 1997 Bussell had excavated approximately 800 feet of this pipe during a water line replacement in Valdez, Alaska. The pipe was later abandoned in a vacant lot in Anchorage, Alaska. Bussell failed to notify the EPA about the project, failed to wet and bag the asbestos properly and failed to dispose of the asbestos-containing pipe at a certified facility. The improper handling of asbestos can lead to the inhalation of airborne fibers and can cause lung cancer, a disease known as “asbestosis” and mesothelioma, which is a cancer of the chest and abdominal cavities. The case was investigated by the EPA Criminal Investigation Division, the Alaska State Troopers, the Maui, Hawaii Police Department and the Alaska Department of Labor, and was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Anchorage.


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