> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # §2Q1.2 Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2q1-2-mishandling-of-hazardous-or-toxic-substances-or-fy2018/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:29:52.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:29:52.000Z - Description: In fiscal year 2018, 26 people were sentenced in federal court under guideline §2Q1.2. Prison and probation only were equally common: 10 people (38%) received each. The median prison term was 9 months. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2Q1.2 Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesti](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2q1-2-mishandling-of-hazardous-or-toxic-substances-or/) › §2Q1.2: FY2018 **In brief:** In fiscal year 2018, 26 people were sentenced in federal court under guideline §2Q1.2\. Prison and probation only were equally common: 10 people (38%) received each. The median prison term was 9 months. Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 26 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018\. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. It is part of the [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## Equal Shares for Prison and Probation Only The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 26 people whose primary guideline was §2Q1.2 in fiscal year 2018\. A prison term was imposed on 10 of them (38%). Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was imposed on 10 (38%). ## Length of Prison Terms in 2018 The median prison term among the 10 people sent to prison was 9 months. A quarter received 12 months or more, and a quarter received 1.3 months or less. Short terms were common in this group, and the upper and lower ends of the range of terms were far apart. The year before, 2017, had a median of 19 months, and the year after, 2019, had a median of 12 months. The 2018 median was lower than both, though each year has only 22 to 31 people. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 25 | 12 months | 92% | | 2017 | 22 | 19 months | 100% | | 2018 | 26 | 9 months | 100% | | 2019 | 31 | 12 months | 97% | | 2020 | 18 | 3 months | 94% | | 2021 | 54 | 0.2 months | 96% | | 2022 | 49 | 2.8 months | 100% | | 2023 | 31 | 4.4 months | 97% | | 2024 | 35 | 4.3 months | 100% | | 2025 | 30 | 0.3 months | 87% | ## Pleas, Agreements, and Mandatory Minimums All 26 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Each guilty plea came with a written plea agreement. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 26 people. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, but the federal data shows that 81% of this group were in criminal history category I, and 0% were in category VI. ## Position Against the Guideline Range A total of 9 sentences (35%) were within the guideline range. Below the range at the government's request were 7 (27%), and below the range without a government request were 10 (38%). None was above the range. For all fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under this guideline, 37% of sentences were within the range. Among all federal sentences in 2018, the share was 51%. ## Fines, Restitution, and Supervised Release A fine was ordered for 13 people (50%), and restitution for 5 (19%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 9 (35%), with a median term of 36 months. Fines were ordered for a larger share than restitution in this year. The records do not show how the amounts were set. ## Context for Reading These Numbers The guideline is titled "Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides; Recordkeeping, Tampering, and Falsification; Unlawfully Transporting Hazardous Materials in Commerce." The Commission classes all 26 cases as Environmental offenses. That is the Commission's own category for the offense type. In fiscal year 2018, the Commission counted 69,425 people sentenced across every guideline, with a median prison term of 24 months. Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 321 people were sentenced under §2Q1.2, 35% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 3.5 months. ## What Cannot Be Learned Here Fiscal year 2018 ran from October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018\. Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. There is no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline in the approved crosswalk, so this post reports the federal numbers on their own. The records do not show the facts behind any sentence. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2Q1.2 (26), U.S. Sentencing Commission individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count. Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30\. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records. ### What to Keep in Mind **No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct.** Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987\. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served. **Federal supervised release.** Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial. **Who decides the sentence, and under what rules.** Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart. **Time periods.** Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually. **How life sentences and "time served" are counted.** In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less. ## Related Analysis - [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [§2Q1.2 Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2q1-2-mishandling-of-hazardous-or-toxic-substances-or/) (overview) - [§2Q1.2 Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2q1-2-mishandling-of-hazardous-or-toxic-substances-or-fy2017/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2Q1.2 Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2q1-2-mishandling-of-hazardous-or-toxic-substances-or-fy2019/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sentences-outside-guideline-range/) - [Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-mandatory-minimum-sentences/) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) **About the author.** Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts *Where All The Bodies Are Buried* and runs the [Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.