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Yipes. More fuel for the antis. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/ap/us/story.html?s=v/ap/980714/us/stories/phony_engineer_3.htmlTitle: Fake Engineer Approved Waste Dumps
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MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press Writer
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - By chance, one state employee showing another how to use an Internet database of licensed professionals decided to use Alan A. Bargerstock as an example.
But Bargerstock, who as an engineer at Envirocare of Utah Inc. approved construction plans at a low-level nuclear waste dump, didn't show up in the database.
There was a good reason: he is not a licensed engineer, though he has certified more than 100 nuclear waste disposal plans during the past year and a half.
Now the state Department of Environmental Quality has put renewal of Envirocare's license on hold until it can sort out any problems Bargerstock may have caused by faking his credentials.
``Our main concern is protection of the public and the environment,'' said Dianne R. Nielson, the department's executive director.
Regulators found Bargerstock's social security number linked to 40 possible aliases. His case was turned over to criminal prosecutors for investigation, officials said Monday.
Charles Judd, president of Envirocare, said Bargerstock, 61, claimed to have an engineering degree and possessed a professional engineer's stamp and license number.
Judd said the company is doing background checks on all of its engineers, which it didn't do when it hired Bargerstock 18 months ago.
Envirocare of Utah, with a giant landfill 60 miles west of Salt Lake City, is one of just three sites nationally that accepts low-level radioactive waste from environmental cleanup sites throughout the country. It also accepts wastes that are radioactive and may contain hazardous substances such as toxic metals or industrial chemicals.
As director of engineering in corporate development, Bargerstock was responsible for certifying the structural capability and specifications of facilities at the landfill.
The state Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing said Bargerstock admitted he didn't have an engineering license.
Bargerstock called his former employer Monday and also told investigators he would meet with them on Wednesday. His phone number in Payson is not listed.
``He apologized for making a serious mistake,'' Judd said. ``He said he didn't change anyone's work. He just reviewed it.''
Judd said most of the work reviewed by Bargerstock dealt with waste treatment, not storage, and he doesn't expect any problems to arise.
The FBI and U.S. attorney's office are investigating Envirocare over alleged dealings between company owner Khosrow Semnani and Larry F. Anderson, former director of the state Division of Radiation Control.
Semnani claims Anderson extorted $600,000 from him, while Anderson claims he is owed $5 million for years of legitimate consulting work.
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