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The Wisconsin Department of Justice is charging two men from Fond du Lac County for putting a hazardous light bulb into a stream.
82-year-old Leonard H. Hughes of Fond du Lac has been charged with transporting and storing hazardous waste without a license, and 25-year-old Zachary T. Ballard of Brandon is charged with depositing garbage, refuse, and deleterious substances into state waters.
The criminal complaint filed by the DOJ says Hughes allegedly used a semi-trailer to transport fluorescent bulbs that contained hazardous levels of mercury.
Ballard was hired by Hughes to dispose of the bulbs on private property.
Ballard used heavy equipment to move the bulbs and push them into the stream, breaking many of them in the process.
The Wisconsin DNR found two other semi-trailers while investigating in Fond du Lac County containing about 30,000 fluorescent bulbs.
The investigation was conducted by the Wisconsin DNR and is being prosecuted by the Wisconsin DOJ.
