Coal-burning coke plant fined $12.5M for Clean Air Act violation; manager gets jail, fine

[Redfairen]

An industrial plant was fined $12.5 million on Wednesday for illegally releasing the carcinogen benzene into the air and improperly handling hazardous sludge, and a manager was sentenced to a year in jail.

Tonawanda Coke Corp. was sentenced in federal court in Buffalo, where it was convicted last year of Clean Air Act violations. The plant along the Niagara River burns coal to produce coke, used in steelmaking.

The charges followed years of complaints from neighbors about black soot and high cancer rates. A federal judge also ordered Tonawanda Coke to spend up to $12.2 million on health and environment studies in the community.

Mark Kamholz, the plant’s environmental manager, was sentenced later Wednesday to a year in jail and a $20,000 fine. He was convicted of obstruction for moving to hide problems from an inspector.

http://m.tribtown.com/view/story/14d874ed573e4d429b3c3c4fa10f5e73/US--Air-Pollution-Criminal-Charge

[immoderate]

1. More accurately coal is DISTILLED to produce coke.

The coal is heated to evaporate volatile components, and what's left is nearly pure carbon, used in steel making.

--imm

[hatrack]

2. Wow, how the hell did that slip through?

An actual sentence for an environmental crime? What went wrong?

[cprise]

3. I know... was asking myself 'What country is that?'

And it is about time.

[Nihil]

4. Probably p*ssed off a relative of the judge ...

... or walked out on the boss's daughter ...

I find it hard to believe that he was actually being punished for the listed crime alone.

[Scuba]

5. That's one.