=======================Electronic Edition========================
RACHEL’S HAZARDOUS WASTE NEWS #77
—May 16, 1988—
News and resources for environmental justice.
——
Environmental Research Foundation
P.O. Box 5036, Annapolis, MD 21403
Fax (410) 263-8944; Internet: erf@igc.apc.org
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COURT CONVICTS MAN OF ‘KNOWING ENDANGERMENT’ IN DUMPING TOXICS.
A Valley Stream, NY, man has been found guilty in federal court
of “knowing endangerment” — knowingly placing another person in
imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury by illegally
disposing of a hazardous waste. This is the first conviction of
an individual for violating Sec. 3008e, the “knowing
endangerment” clause of the federal Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA). The crime carries a maximum penalty of 15
years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Albert Tumin of Valley
Stream was convicted April 13 in the U.S. District Court in
Brooklyn; no date has been set for sentencing.
Mr. Tumin was convicted of having dumped three 55-gallon drums of
ethyl ether (a highly flammable substance) in a vacant lot
located in a densely-populated residential area of Rockaway, NY.
Mr. Tumin had been under police surveillance from the time he
purchased the chemical, which is sometimes used in the
manufacture of illegal drugs. Assistant District Attorney Roger
Marzulla of the federal Department of Justice (DOJ) said DOJ
“expects that this case will have an important deterrent effect
on those who purposefully dump hazardous wastes in a fashion that
endangers innocent people.”
For further information contact Public Affairs Office, DOJ, Room
1216, Ninth St. and Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Wash., DC 20530; phone
(202) 633-1017.
–Peter Montague, Ph.D.
Descriptor terms: investigations; trials; ny; enforcement;
illegal dumping; hazardous waste; rcra; known endangerment;
albert tumin; ethyl ether; roger marzulla; doj;