PA ILL. DISPOSAL OF HAZ. AND LOW LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES

PA ILL. DISPOSAL OF HAZ. AND LOW LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES

FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 1996

ILLEGAL DISPOSAL OF HAZARDOUS AND LOW LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES LEADS TO GUILTY PLEA FOR FORMER IDAHO LABORATORY TECHNICIAN

On Aug. 26, Jay A. Johnson, formerly of Shelley, Idaho, pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to the Department of Energy and one count of improperly disposing of a hazardous waste. Johnson was employed in the Environmental Monitoring Unit at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) which is a facility run by Lockheed Idaho Corp. on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy. Johnson admitted to making false statements to a government auditor during an official audit of INEL to cover up the improper disposal of approximately 145 mixed waste laboratory samples containing hazardous waste, low level radioactive waste and mixed waste. Johnson also admitted to illegally disposing of a TCLP cadmium filter in a dumpster at INEL. Johnson is scheduled for sentencing on Nov. 25 and faces up to five years imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000 on each of the two counts. The case was investigated by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI and the Department of Energy Office of Inspector General.

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