Radioactive material was illegally stored at Lenexa lab, charges say
The owner of a Lenexa laboratory has been charged with illegally storing hazardous wastes including some radioactive material.
Ahmed el-Sherif, a 61-year-old chemist, was the owner and radiation safety officer for Beta Chem Laboratory.
Officials with the Environmental Protection Agency served a search warrant at the lab in 2014 and discovered “numerous” containers of hazardous waste, including some contaminated with radiation, according to the allegations announced Thursday.
It cost about $760,000 to clean up the site, federal prosecutors said.
El-Sherif was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday. Besides the hazardous waste allegation, he was charged with false and misleading financial information about the company, according to the indictment.
Tony Rizzo: 816-234-4435, @trizzkc
This story was originally published March 16, 2017 at 4:14 PM with the headline "Radioactive material was illegally stored at Lenexa lab, charges say."