§2Q1.2 Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021
Fiscal year 2021 had the largest group sentenced under guideline §2Q1.2 in the 2016 to 2025 data: 54 people. Probation only was the most common sentence at 59% (32 people), and the median prison term was 0.2 months for the 18 people (33%) sent to prison.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2Q1.2 Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesti › §2Q1.2: FY2021
In brief: Fiscal year 2021 had the largest group sentenced under guideline §2Q1.2 in the 2016 to 2025 data: 54 people. Probation only was the most common sentence at 59% (32 people), and the median prison term was 0.2 months for the 18 people (33%) sent to prison.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 54 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021. 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 series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
The Largest Group Under This Guideline
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 54 people in fiscal year 2021 whose primary guideline was §2Q1.2. That is more than in any other fiscal year from 2016 to 2025. The previous year had 18 people, and the next year had 49.
Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was the sentence for 32 people (59%). A prison term was the sentence for 18 (33%).
| 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% |
Prison Terms of Less Than a Month at the Median
The median prison term among the 18 people sent to prison was 0.2 months. A quarter received 2 months or more, and a quarter received 0 months or less. A median that low means that many of the prison terms were very short or were recorded as zero.
After a guilty plea, the median was 0 months. After a trial it was 2 months, but that figure is based on 2 people.
The all-years median for this guideline is 3.5 months, so the 2021 median was lower.
Restitution Was Ordered More Often Than Fines
Restitution was ordered for 34 people (63%), and a fine for 16 (30%). Restitution is payment ordered to make up for a loss. A fine is a payment to the government.
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 15 people (28%), with a median term of 36 months.
Within-Range Sentences Were the Most Common Result
For 31 people (57%), the sentence was within the guideline range. It was below the range at the government's request for 11 (20%), and below the range without a government request for 12 (22%). No sentence was above the range.
That within-range share was higher than the 28% in 2020 and the 48% in 2022. It was also higher than the 43% for all federal sentences in 2021 and the 37% for all years under this guideline.
Pleas and Criminal History
A total of 52 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. Among those who pleaded guilty, 98% had a written plea agreement, and 2% did not. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to anyone in the group.
In criminal history category I, the lowest, were 87% of the group, and 2% were in category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Federal Sentencing as a Whole in 2021
The Commission counted 57,287 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021 across every guideline. Their median prison term was 29 months, and 98% pleaded guilty.
Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 321 people were sentenced under §2Q1.2, and 35% were sent to prison.
What This Data Leaves Out
The guideline is titled "Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides; Recordkeeping, Tampering, and Falsification; Unlawfully Transporting Hazardous Materials in Commerce." The Commission's offense type for these 54 cases is Environmental.
Fiscal year 2021 ran from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021. The data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. No close court-martial counterpart exists in the approved crosswalk, so the federal numbers stand alone. The records do not show why the group was larger in 2021.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2Q1.2 (54), 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- §2Q1.2 Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2Q1.2 Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2Q1.2 Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022 (previous or next fiscal year)
- How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range
- Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (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. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.