Appalachia

Bluefield Daily Telegraph
W.Va. lab appeals revocation of certification
Friday, October 24, 2014 4:04 pm
Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A Raleigh County laboratory is appealing a decision by state environmental regulators to revoke its certification to perform water sampling and analysis after a worker pleaded guilty to tampering.

Appalachian Laboratories Inc. on Thursday asked the West Virginia Environmental Quality Board in Charleston to put the decision by the Department of Environmental Protection on hold pending a hearing...

...Shelton, 47, of Daniels, faces up to five years in prison when he’s sentenced on Feb. 26 in U.S. District Court in Beckley. Daniels told the court that he and other employees added distilled water to samples to dilute them. The dilution made it appear that the samples were within permissible limits.

Appalachian Laboratories attorney Joseph Jenkins noted Shelton’s actions alleged by federal prosecutors ended in July 2013, while the DEP recertified the lab in August 2014 after a compliance audit. The DEP revocation order occurred Tuesday....

MORE at http://www.bdtonline.com/news/w-va-lab-appeals-revocation-of-certification/article_09aae994-5bb9-11e4-8444-3badd79181dc.html