Mainline dentist pleads guilty to medical waste dumping
A dentist from suburban Philadelphia has pleaded guilty to illegally dumping medical waste in the waters along the Jersey shore. According to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, the Main Line dentist responsible for a series of Avalon beach closures in the summer of 2008 has pleaded guilty to dumping needles and other medical waste into New Jersey’s waterways.
A dentist from suburban Philadelphia has pleaded guilty to illegally dumping medical waste in the waters along the Jersey shore.
New Jersey. WHYY’s Megan Pinto reports. [audio:100315MPDENTIST.mp3]
According to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, the Main Line dentist responsible for a series of Avalon beach closures in the summer of 2008 has pleaded guilty to dumping needles and other medical waste into New Jersey’s waterways.
61-year-old Thomas McFarland Jr. of Wynnwood, Pennsylvania, who owns a house in Avalon Manor, admitted to taking his small motor boat out on August 22 and dumping a bag of dental waste into the Townsend Inlet in New Jersey.
Authorities say within 12 hours, hundreds of dental-type needles, cotton swabs and materials used for dental fillings had washed up along the Avalon shore.
Under the plea deal, McFarland would be placed on probation for one year and would pay a $100,000 fine.
Sentencing is scheduled for April 30.
WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.