Opinion ID: 75555
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Hazardous substances as defined

Text: 52 OSHA chemist Clinton Leroy Merrell testified that samples which were submitted from LCP on 9 September 1992 tested as containing 8 to 30 parts per million of mercury, and six to ten-percent caustic, with a pH of 14. R21-163, 165-67; Govt Exs. 45-6, 45-9. Former LCP plant manager Hugh Leroy Croom testified that, in January 1993, the untreated wastewater may have had a high pH, and . . . some mercury, but would not have contained mercury sludge. R16-91, 131-32. He said that the pH could be high enough to be a danger at times but that it did not stay high and varied according to the spills. Id. at 132; R19-35-36. However, he testified that muds containing mercury and caustic were washed onto the cellroom floors every three or four days when the treatment system's filters were back washed. R16-127-28; R19-103. When asked whether the wastewater on the cellroom floors would be considered a hazardous waste, Croom responded [m]ost of the time, probably it was. R16-112-13; see also id. at 128 (Croom admitted that wastes on the cellroom floor were listed as hazardous wastes). 53 Dr. Teitelbaum testified that a fall and submersion into caustic soda with a pH of 14 would cause a third-degree burn over the entire body with a likelihood of death. R20-241-42. LCP former employee Duane Carver testified that, some time between 1987 and 1993, he stepped into the cellroom sump hole and went in up to his waist. R19-226-28. He knew that the pH was pretty high because he quickly felt it. Id. at 228. He showered and was able to get most of it off so that he didn't get burned all the way and did not seek medical attention. Id. at 229-30, 251. 54 Environmental Protection Agency regulatory expert Paul Peronaud explained the hazardous waste classifications to the jury, R21-11-13, and the jury was instructed as to various types of hazardous wastes, R22-199-200. 30 55 The Waste Water Treatment Operators Logs for the periods of the indictment showed that the wastewater often contained more than 200 parts per billion of mercury. 31 Govt. Exs. 4, 5, 6-1. Former LCP employee Dunn testified that Taylor directed the employees to put a sign up labeling the wastewater in the rail cars as [h]azardous waste materials. R20-345. Taylor testified that the pH of the plant's wastewater was normally between seven and ten, and in concentration of eight to ten percent. R21-262, 264. A hazardous waste is defined as 56 a solid waste, or combination of solid wastes, which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may 57 (A) cause, or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness; or 58 (B) pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, or disposed of, or otherwise managed. 59 42 U.S.C. § 6903(5). Hazardous wastes are categorized as either listed hazardous substances or characteristic hazardous substances. 40 C.F.R. § 261.3(a); R21-11-15. The characteristic hazardous substances are not per se hazardous but may be classified as hazardous if, because of a mixture with a hazardous substance, testing proves that the substance exhibits characteristics of hazardous waste. 40 C.F.R. §§ 261.3(a)(2)(i) and 261.20(a). Characteristics of hazardous waste include ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, and toxicity. 40 C.F.R. §§ 261.21, 261.22, 261.23, and 261.24. Wastewater containing mercury is classified as a characteristic hazardous substance when the water contains 200 parts per billion or more of mercury. Id. at § 261.24 (a), Table. Wastewater treatment sludge from the mercury cell process in chlorine production is listed as hazardous waste K106. Id. at § 261.32. Wastewater containing caustic is classified as a characteristic hazardous substance when the water has a pH less than or equal to 2 or greater than or equal to 12.5. Id. at § 261.22(a)(1). Once solid wastes are mixed with sludge or caustic, they are defined as hazardous. Id. at § 261.3(a)(2)(iv). 60 Where there is no sampling of the actual wastes, the government may prove the hazardous nature of the material by inventories, hazardous waste logs, internal memoranda, and trial testimony. United States v. Baytank (Houston), Inc., 934 F.2d 599, 614 (5th Cir. 1991). The government is not required to prove that material is hazardous by EPA testing. United States v. Self, 2 F.3d 1071, 1086 (10th Cir. 1993). We find that the testimony of the former LCP employees and the wastewater logs were sufficient for the jury to find that the untreated wastewater contained enough mercury and caustic to meet the environmental laws' definition of hazardous substances or materials. 61