NCJ Number
156493
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 64 Issue: 5 Dated: (May 1995) Pages: 22-26
Date Published
1995
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article concerns the need for an integrated response from the entire public safety community to prevent illegal waste haulers from improperly disposing of their cargo.
Abstract
Waste haulers who choose to abuse the environment rather than dispose of their cargo in a legal and safe manner represent a growing minority of truckers who disregard public safety to increase profits. They generally work for, or are part of, organized crime groups and specialize in circumventing State and local environmental ordinances. Detecting and prosecuting illegal trucking practices is difficult because truckers often cross State lines, and what is illegal in one State may be legal in another. Environmental offenses committed by some truckers include: (1) selling as home heating oil pure diesel fuel mixed with corrosives, solvents, and other hazardous waste; (2) recycling waste oils back into the market instead of disposing of them at legal dumps in accordance with EPA guidelines; and (3) abandoning dilapidated trucks along with illicit cargo. The article includes suggestions for confronting these problems and dealing with environmental polluters. Endnotes