Wal-Mart admits criminal hazardous waste probe

By Chuck Bartels
AP Business Writer
December 20, 2005

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. --Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is the target of a criminal investigation over how it handled merchandise that is classified as hazardous waste, the company announced Tuesday.

The world's largest retailer said in a regulatory filing that the investigation centers on the company's transport of hazardous materials from stores in California to a return center in Las Vegas. The company said its practice is to move hazardous materials to return centers, then take the materials to sites approved for hazardous waste disposal. . Read more