COCOA, Fla.,None — Police have arrested a man who they say illegally dumped hazardous waste in a Cocoa dumpster, including needles, formaldehyde, and embalming fluid.
SLIDESHOW: Images From Bio-Hazard Scene
Workers at a plastic company on St. Johns Street in Cocoa (see map) noticed their dumpster was full and then realized something wasn't right about it. Investigators who were called to the scene, shielded the dumpster from view, and spent hours going through it Monday, trying to figure out where the waste came from.
When workers at Paragon Plastics took out the trash they not only noticed the dumpster was full of bags they didn't put there, but that there was a different smell coming from it.
"There was a foul odor coming from the bags and there was a plastic bottle in the corner labeled 'formaldehyde,'"said Officer Barbara Matthews, Cocoa Police Department.
Police said Adrian Stone lives across the street, and they followed a trail of liquid from the dumpster to his house. Stone has a license to transport biological waste and he admitted to dumping it.
The home is owned by City Councilman Clarence Whipple, Jr., but police said he's been renting the home to Stone.
Investigators from the State Department of Environmental Protection put on specialized gear to sort through approximately ten bags in the dumpster. They weren't sure exactly what they might find.
Authorities said biological waste has to be sent to specialized facilities and can't be discarded with regular trash.