Man Jailed for Fire Risk Hazardous waste Handling

Man Jailed for Fire Risk Hazardous waste Handling



October 2007

 An Alaska man who used to 
reside in Idaho was sentenced Monday to 21 months in prison for illegally 
transporting hazardous materials and illegally storing hazardous waste, 
the Justice Department announced. 
Krister Sven Everston, of Wasilla, Alaska, also known as Krister 
Ericksson, was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $421,049 
and placed on supervised leave for three years. 
Evertson was convicted on June 18, 2007 by a federal jury in Pocatello of 
one count of violating the Hazardous Materials Transportation Safety Act 
for transporting un-placarded tanks and drums on an unplacarded trailer 
down a highway without proper shipping documents. 
He was also convicted of two counts of Resource Conservation and Recovery 
Act violations for unlawful storage of hazardous waste. 
EPA Assistant Administrator Granta Nakayama said, "The defendant's illegal 
transportation, storage and disposal of highly reactive sodium metal 
created a risk of fire." 
"Mr. Everston's sentence is an indication of the degree to which we value 
our clean environment here in Idaho," said U.S. Attorney Tom Moss. 
"Actions like his which endanger the environment and individuals require 
the sentence imposed today." 
During the trial, the Justice Department proved that Everston, the former 
owner and president of the now defunct SBH Corporation, transported 10 
metric tons of sodium metal from its port of entry in Seattle, Washington, 
to his former place of residence in Salmon, Idaho. 
There, he used some of the sodium in an effort to manufacture sodium 
borohydride, a specialty reducing agent used in the manufacture of 
pharmaceuticals and other compounds. 
In August of 2002, Everston arranged for the transportation of the sodium 
metal not used in the manufacturing process and several above-ground 
storage tanks which contained sludges and other liquids from SBH's Salmon 
manufacturing facility to a storage site at the Steel and Ranch Supply 
facililty in Salmon. 
Sodium metal and the materials in the tanks are highly reactive with 
water, and Everston failed to take protective measures to reduce the risk 
that the transported material would react and damage people or property. 
On May 27, 2004, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency personnel went to 
the SRS facility and removed the sodium metal, one tank that contained 
sludge, and another tank containing corrosive liquid. 
Commercial laboratories refused to accept the sludge for testing because 
they considered it too dangerous, so the EPA tested the sludge at the 
National Enforcement Investigations Center laboratory. It was determined 
to be highly reactive with water and classified as a hazardous waste. 
More than $430,000 was spent on cleanup and response costs related to 
Everston's abandonment of the hazardous materials. 

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