Executive’s Jail Term Upheld
	A federal appeals court has upheld a 17-year prison term for a chemical industry executive convicted of knowingly exposing employees to cyanide poisoning, causing permanent and severe brain damage in one worker. It is the longest sentence ever for an environmental crime and has bolstered federal authority to enforce the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Allen Elias, then president of Evergreen Resources (Soda Creek, ID), was convicted in 1999 of criminal violations under RCRA for ordering two employees to clean a 25,000-gal cyanide waste storage tank without protective gear (Chemical Week, May 10, 2000). Elias says tests on tank revealed no risk, and he appealed his conviction on the grounds that the federal government has no authority his case because Idaho has an RCRA program authorized by EPA. The Ninth Circuit found that Congress in 1984 made clear its intent to retain strong federal enforcement of RCRA. Prosecutors charged Elias with ignoring employees complaints of sore throats and requests for protective gear. Scott Dominguez was overcome by hydrogen cyanide gas and was not rescued for more than an hour due to lack of proper equipment. The exposure caused permanent brain damage, leaving Dominguez barely able to walk, talk, or care for himself, prosecutors say.
	-- Kara Sissell