MEC&F Expert Engineers : 09/21/15

Monday, September 21, 2015

Former peanut exec gets 28 years in prison for deadly salmonella outbreak that killed 9 and sickened hundreds


He should have gotten the firing squad for causing the death of so many people.





FILE - In this March 12, 2009, file photo, the criminal thug, former Peanut Corporation of America's president Stewart Parnell arrives a federal court in Lynchburg, Va. Parnell's family asked a federal judge in Albany, Ga., on Monday, Sept. 21, 2015, to show mercy when sentencing him for his role in a deadly salmonella outbreak from 2008 and 2009. Meanwhile, victims' families have asked the judge to deliver a stiff sentence.   Hopefully he rots in jail.  (AP Photo/Don Petersen, File)

ALBANY, Ga. (AP) — A former peanut company executive was sentenced Monday to 28 years in prison for his role in a deadly salmonella outbreak, the stiffest punishment ever handed out to a producer in a foodborne illness case.



The outbreak in 2008 and 2009 was blamed for nine deaths and sickened hundreds more, and triggered one of the largest food recalls in U.S. history.

Before he was sentenced, former Peanut Corporation of America owner Stewart Parnell listened as nine victims testified about the terror and grief caused by tainted peanut butter traced to the company's plant in southwest Georgia. Hours later, they left the courthouse applauding the sentence.

"It should be enough to send a message to the other manufacturers that this is not going to be tolerated anymore and they had better inspect their food," said Randy Napier, whose 80-year-old mother died from salmonella poisoning after eating peanut butter from Parnell's plant.

Experts say the trial of Parnell and two co-defendants a year ago marked the first time U.S. food producers stood trial on criminal charges in a food-poisoning case. The company went bankrupt following the salmonella outbreak.

U.S. Attorney Michael Moore of Georgia's Middle District, whose office prosecuted the case, called it "a landmark with implications that will resonate not just in the food industry but in corporate boardrooms across the country."

A federal jury convicted Parnell, 61, of knowingly shipping contaminated peanut butter and of faking results of lab tests intended to screen for salmonella.

Tom Bondurant, one of Parnell's defense attorneys, said 28 years prison would amount to a life sentence for his client. He plans to appeal the conviction and sentence.

"If you compare it with other food-safety criminal cases, it's tremendously out of line," Bondurant said.

In April, two former egg executives in Iowa were sentenced to three months in jail for their role in a 2010 salmonella outbreak linked to more than 1,900 illnesses.

One of the victims in the Peanut Corporation outbreak was 10-year-old Jacob Hurley, who was just 3 when he was stricken by salmonella from peanut butter crackers that left him vomiting and rushing to the toilet for nearly two weeks.

Judge W. Louis Sands estimated Parnell faced up to 803 years in prison for his crimes, but said a punishment that severe would have been "inappropriate." He didn't elaborate.

"These acts were driven simply by the desire to profit and to protect profits notwithstanding the known risks" from salmonella, the judge said. "This is commonly and accurately referred to as greed."

Federal investigators found a leaky roof, roaches and evidence of rodents at the plant, all ingredients for brewing salmonella. They also uncovered emails and records showing food confirmed by lab tests to contain salmonella was shipped to customers anyway. Other batches were never tested at all, but got shipped with fake lab records saying salmonella screenings were negative.

Emails prosecutors presented at trial showed that Parnell once directed employees to "turn them loose" after samples of peanuts tested positive for salmonella and then were cleared in another test. Several months before the outbreak, when a final lab test found salmonella, Parnell expressed concern to a Georgia plant manager, writing in an Oct. 6, 2008, email that the delay "is costing us huge $$$."

Parnell, who didn't testify during his trial and stayed silent years ago when called before a congressional hearing, apologized to the courtroom full of victims and their relatives.

Speaking in a shaky voice and wearing a rumpled white shirt and khaki pants, Parnell acknowledged problems at his peanut plant, but he never addressed the emails and company records.

"I am personally embarrassed, humiliated and morally disgraced by what happened," he said, acknowledging that some might see his apology as coming too late.

"It's been a seven-year nightmare for me and my family," Parnell told the judge. "All I can do is come before you and ask for forgiveness from you and the people back here. I'm truly sorry for what happened."

His brother, Michael Parnell, and the plant's former quality control manager, Mary Wilkerson, were also convicted. Michael Parnell was sentenced to 20 years and Wilkerson five.

Stewart Parnell and his co-defendants were never charged with killing or sickening anybody. Instead, federal prosecutors charged them with defrauding customers who used Peanut Corporation's peanuts and peanut butter in products from snack crackers to pet food. Parnell was convicted of 67 criminal counts including conspiracy, wire fraud and obstruction of justice.

Members of Parnell's family pleaded for leniency. His mother, Zelda Parnell, told the judge both of her sons "have suffered for years."

"They lost their income, all their material things and worst of all their pride," she said.

Three deaths linked to the outbreak occurred in Minnesota, two in Ohio, two in Virginia, one in Idaho and one in North Carolina.

Pipeline Construction Welding: one of the leading causes of pipeline failure



Pipeline Construction Welding: one of the leading causes of pipeline failure

The applicable regulations addressing welding are in Subpart E of Part 192 for gas pipelines and Subpart D of Part 195 for hazardous liquid pipelines. Additional discussion on welding can be found at the Stakeholders Communications web site. Some specific concerns identified related to welding applications during construction are provided below:


  1. Improperly qualified procedures or the use of wrong procedures. All welding procedures must be qualified and welding must be controlled to strict specifications. 
  2. As part of the quality-assurance process, each welder must pass qualification tests to work on a particular pipeline job, and each weld procedure must be approved for use on that job in accordance with welding standards.PHMSA inspection has found that some constructors do not have welding procedures on site or are not following procedures.
  3. Part of the welding process is pre-heating of the pipe joint prior to beginning welding. Welders have not always ensured that the pre-heating requirements, established and documented in qualified welding procedures, are maintained. Improper pre-heating can lead to weld cracking after the completion of successful nondestructive testing of the weld. Refer to Hydrogen Assisted Cracking (HAC) for additional discussion.


PHMSA issued advisory bulletin ADB-10-03 to notify owners and operators of recently constructed large diameter natural gas pipeline and hazardous liquid pipeline systems of the potential for girth weld failures due to welding quality issues. Misalignment during welding of large diameter line pipe may cause in-service leaks and ruptures at pressures well below 72 percent specified minimum yield strength (SMYS).  PHMSA has found pipe segments with:


  1. Line pipe weld misalignment
  2. Improper bevel and wall thickness transitions,
  3. Out of roundness due to cut induction bends, and
  4.  Other improper welding practices.

PHMSA inspection has seen the following types of concerns when inspecting new pipeline construction:
Mechanized Welding

Coating damage caused by welding band
Incomplete weld procedure qualification
Pre-heat crew not using Tempilstiks
Pipe size - Hi-Lo alignment issues
NDT falling behind main gang
Lack of padding between pipe and skids
Incorrect or inadequate placement of skid cribbing
Lack of inspector oversight
Not following procedures
Incorrect pre-heat or interpass temp
Improper use of Tempilstik - too near weld
Amps and Volts measured at machine not weld (only long leads)
Moving pipe during root bead welding
Initial high defect rates
Inadequate defect repair tracking
Inadequate quality and documentation of MUT
Manual Welding

Not following procedures
Improper fitup (misalignment)
Improper bevel and wall thickness transitions
Improper fitup of cut induction bends (ovality and out-of-roundness)
Lack of inspector oversight
Early clamp release
Arc burns due to poor welding practices
Incorrect pre-heat or interpass temp
Inadequate visual weld inspection
Improper storage of low hydrogen rods
Welding inspectors not in possession of welding procedures
Use of 'hinging' technique to aid with pipe line-up
Pipe size - Hi-Lo alignment issues
Improper gas flow rate for gas shielded processes
Inadequate defect repair tracking
Incomplete qualification documents for welders
Amps and Volts measured at machine not weld (for long leads)
Inadequate defect removal on repair welds

METROPOLITAN’S PIPELINE ENGINEERING SERVICES



 

METROPOLITAN'S Pipeline ENGINEERING services


METROPOLITAN provides a full range of services from project conception to completion in the following disciplines:
      Program/Project management & controls
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Program/Project Management & Controls
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Engineering & Design
      Pipeline design
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Mapping & Drafting
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Environmental/Permitting
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Construction Management & Inspection
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      Pipeline testing & evaluation
      Project completion reports/packages
      Project completion reports & turnover packages


Geographic Information Systems (GIS) & Document Management
      Construction information integration
      GIS platform evaluations
      Geo-referenced drawings, mapping & databases
      Project life cycle database/document management
      Field engineering & survey activity tracking/management
      Right-of-way services management
      Environmental services management
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      Construction/inspection services management
      Asset management

Safety, environmental compliance and quality are core focus areas for every employee at METROPOLITAN.  We are adamant about adhering to approved drug and alcohol testing, project/site-specific health and safety programs and maintaining membership in multiple operator qualification organizations.  You can rely on METROPOLITAN to deliver quality products safely and with respect for our employees and yours.

Metropolitan Engineering, Consulting & Forensics (MECF)
Providing Competent, Expert and Objective Investigative Engineering and Consulting Services
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