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PA PCBs ENFORCEMENT CASE

Release Date: 07/19/96
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PA PCBs ENFORCEMENT CASE

FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, JULY 19, 1996

ILLEGAL TRANSPORTATION, STORAGE, AND DISPOSAL OF TRANSFORMERS CONTAINING PCBs LEADS TO SEVEN COUNT INDICTMENT FOR WASHINGTON STATE MAN

On July 16, a seven count indictment for violations of the Toxic Substances Control Act and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act was handed down against Quinn Million, owner of Air Quality Services Inc. (AQS) in Pasco, Wash. Between March 1991 and September 1992 the defendant is alleged to have illegally transported, stored and disposed of four electric transformers containing the toxic substance Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) which is a cancer-causing chemical. The transformers had previously been located at the Harris Pine saw mill in Pendleton, Ore., which is owned by the Louisiana Pacific Corp. Million is alleged to have transported the transformers to the AQS facility in Pasco, Wash., without proper manifesting. At the AQS facility, the transformers were allegedly drained of approximately 300 gallons of PCB oil which has never been recovered. Tests of spilled substances on the ground at the AQS facility near the transformers indicated PCB concentrations as high as one million parts per million. The case was investigated by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division.

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