Laurel Dry-Cleaner Pleads Guilty to Improper Disposal of Chemicals

The owner of a Laurel dry cleaning businesses has been fined thousands of dollars by the state after pleading guilty to improperly disposing of chemicals used the cleaner, reports The Baltimore Sun.

Mehret Sium, 58, owner of LLC, entered guilty pleas Aug. 31 in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court related to charges of illegal disposal of hazardous waste and failure to follow hazardous waste transportation requirements, the Sun reports.

Acting on a tip received in the spring, the Maryland Department of the Environment found 18 drums of dry cleaning solvent waste on the side of Dicus Mill Road near Millersville. The drums traced back to the Laurel dry cleaner, according to the Sun.

The business was subsequently fined $30,000 with all but $6,251 suspended. Sium received a sentence of six-months in jail and a $10,000 fine but both were suspended, according to court record. Sium was ordered to perform 850 hours of community service and three years’ probation, according to the Sun.