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Two officials of a circuit board manufacturing company in California pleaded no contest on Tuesday to charges of dumping copper and acid waste into a sewer.
Vijay Merchant, 53, president of Golden West Circuits in Santa Ana, and Nandell Patel, 49, the company's waste processor and handler, faced 14 felony charges of failure to properly dispose off toxic waste. They pleaded no contest to a felony charge.
Two others -- Rajesh Kumbhani of Cerritos and Savji Kumbhani of Buena Park who handled the company's day-to-day activities -- pleaded guilty to a felony count of being an accessory to the crime.
"It's the equivalent of a guilty plea, a no-contest," said Deputy District Attorney Nick Thompson of the Orange County district attorney's environmental protection unit.
The company also entered a guilt plea to two felony counts. The restitution fee can amount up to $50,000 and the foursome and the company could face additional fines of up to $250,000. The men could also receive a jail sentence ranging from 30 days to a year, Thomson said.
"I think it's an equitable plea," he said. "Hopefully, they've taken responsibility for their actions and now that they are on probation, we'll monitor their conduct."
"Our biggest concern is that they not do it again," Thomson added
Three years ago, the company was fined $15,000 in Huntington Beach for dumping heavy metals and cyanide into a sewer system. Golden West Circuits moved to Santa Ana almost a year ago without notifying a sanitation district manager, who was investigating the company in Huntington Beach.
The company was suspected of resuming its dumping practices earlier this year. Sanitation officials then began to keep a close eye on the firm. In January, officials began sampling wastewater near the new business and found evidence of dumping.
"It's hard to tell how much was dumped, but there were five 55-gallon drums of waste that we discovered," Thompson said. "The costs of proper disposal are high and they resort to such methods."
Hazardous waste can harm pipelines and microorganisms in the sewers that neutralise raw sewage, Thompson added.
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