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2 charged with toxic waste dumping

Three years after being fined in Huntington Beach for dumping heavy metals and cyanide into a sewer system, two managers of a circuit-board maker face similar charges in another California city.

This time the charges are more serious. The men -- Nandell Patel of Cerritos, California, and Vijay Merchant, 53, of Mission Viejo, California -- face 91/2 years in prison each and a collective fine of $1.1 million.

They were fined $15,000 in 1998 by the Orange County sanitation district when they operated the business in Huntington Beach.

Patel and Merchant, of Golden West Circuits in Santa Ana, were released early this week on $50,000 and $25,000 bail, respectively. They were charged with 11 felony counts of dumping hazardous waste into a sewer, allegedly releasing copper and acid waste that can harm pipelines.

Patel is responsible for waste processing and handling at Golden West Circuits. Merchant is its president.

Both will be arraigned on June 18 at the superior court in Santa Ana, according to Nick Thompson, a deputy district attorney in the Orange County district attorney's environmental protection unit.

"All of the charges are of the same level... essentially for the same conduct," Thompson said. "They are serious charges and our sewer systems, storm drains, beach closures and sewer piping are issues of great concern to our unit.

"Hazardous waste being dumped improperly poses a threat to the environment and the people who work on [sewer] maintenance."

Golden West Circuits moved to Santa Ana six months ago without notifying a sanitation district manager, who was investigating the company in Huntington Beach.

The company was suspected of resuming its dumping practices. Sanitation officials then began to keep a close eye on the move. In January, officials began sampling wastewater near the new business and found evidence of dumping.

The amount dumped was small, yet a spokesperson for the sanitation district said the men need to be prosecuted to set an example.

"If we let all the little discharges go, suddenly it's compounded," Lisa Lawson, the spokesperson, told The Los Angeles Times. "If it had gone on for a long time, it would have affected our collection system by wearing away the pipes."

Recently, Thompson prosecuted the owner of Matrix Circuits of Costa Mesa, California, for similar violations.

"There are lots of similar operations here," the deputy DA said. "It's not as common as petty theft or murder, but it does happen. A lot is dependent on the people reporting the violations and the evidence that goes along."

Basically, it comes down to following the rules, Thompson noted. "If they don't follow the environmental rules and regulations, they need to be punished severely," he said of Merchant and Patel.

Repeated calls to Golden West Circuits were not returned.

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