By Sylvie Dale, Online Editor
Noble, Ga., Feb. 18, 2002 -- The Georgia Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is testing well water from the area around a site where dozens of decomposing bodies were dumped.
The agency is concerned about contamination of the wells and the lake on the northwest Georgia property after police discovered that more than 100 bodies which were supposed to have been cremated have been instead dumped in the woods.
Gov. Roy Barnes has declared a state of emergency and hundreds of workers are looking for more bodies. Officials have said they may find as many as 200 bodies eventually.
Walker County sheriff's deputies discovered the remains Friday, hours after an anonymous call to the EPA, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said.
Brent Marsh, owner of the Tri-State Crematory where the bodies were found, has been charged with sixteen counts of felony theft by deception in connection with his alleged failure to cremate the bodies which have been identified.
Workers have found corpses in storage sheds and in the woods behind the crematory. Health officials are also testing the lake water to determine if it is safe for divers to check for more bodies there. Investigators said they believe the crematory had neglected the corpses for up to 15 years.
The Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) reported that there are 729 crematories in Georgia but only two inspectors, the Disaster News Network reported. GEMA also said that only crematories that deal directly with the public have to be inspected. Tri-State was never inspected because it worked only with funeral homes.
For more information, visit the Atlanta-Journal Constitution web site at http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/, and the Disaster News Network at http://www.disasternews.net/.
