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OFFICIALS OF GEORGIA COMPANY INDICTED

Release Date: 06/05/98
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 1998
OFFICIALS OF GEORGIA COMPANY INDICTED

On May 28, four former officers and managers of LCP Chemicals of Brunswick, Ga., were named in a 42 count indictment in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia in Savannah. LCP was a subsidiary of Hanlin Group Inc., a Delaware corporation. All defendants have been charged with one count of conspiring to violate the Clean Water Act; the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act; and the Endangered Species Act. The defendants are: Christian A. Hansen of Highlands, N.J., former Chairman of the Board of Hanlin Group; Randall W. Hansen of Westfield, N.J., former Treasurer of the Hanlin Group; Alfred R. Taylor of Brunswick, Ga., former Plant Manager at the LCP facility in Brunswick; and D. Brent Hanson of Brunswick, Ga., former Environmental Manager for the LCP facility. LCP manufactured chlor-alkalai bleach, caustic soda, hydrogen gas and hydrochloric acid at its Brunswick facility. In the process, the defendants allegedly caused mercury and chlorine to be released into Purvis Creek. Contact with sufficient quantities of mercury can lead to a variety of neurological and other disorders. Chlorine is a highly caustic material which can cause chemical burns in people and can be harmful to aquatic life. In addition, each defendant is charged with one count of knowingly endangering employees at the Brunswick Plant. The defendants are also individually charged with a variety of other environmental offenses. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with the assistance of EPA’s National Enforcement Investigations Center.
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