Corporate Dumping

THE PRESENCE of various types of toxic substances in our environment has become increasingly widespread—a fact that former President Jimmy Carter once called “one of the grimmest discoveries of the modern era.” Chemical sales in the United States exceed a $112 billion per year, with as many as 70,000 chemical substances used in commerce. There is no clear-cut definition of what a hazardous waste crime includes, but one definition of a hazardous waste crime is: any act that violates a hazardous waste statute.

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976 is the main statute that outlines the various types of activities that are regulated and punishable. Under RCRA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has defined hazardous waste as any solid waste, or combination of ...