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# §2Q1.2 Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2q1-2-mishandling-of-hazardous-or-toxic-substances-or/
- Published: 2026-11-03T01:39:56.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T01:39:56.000Z
- Description: Probation alone was the most common outcome under §2Q1.2 in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 173 of 321 people (54%). Another 112 (35%) received prison, with a median of 3.5 months. Supervised release was ordered for 100 people (31%).
- 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

**In brief:** Probation alone was the most common outcome under §2Q1.2 in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 173 of 321 people (54%). Another 112 (35%) received prison, with a median of 3.5 months. Supervised release was ordered for 100 people (31%).

Updated November 2, 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 321 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 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/).

## Probation Alone Was Most Common

Of the 321 people sentenced, 173 (54%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. A prison term went to 112 (35%).

Among those 112, the median prison term was 3.5 months. A quarter received 12 months or more, and a quarter received 0.5 months or less. These are terms imposed, not time served.

## What the Guideline Covers

The Manual's title is "Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides," and the full section also names recordkeeping, tampering, falsification, and unlawfully transporting hazardous materials in commerce. The Sentencing Commission files these cases under Environmental.

A case counts here when §2Q1.2 was the primary guideline. Only convicted and sentenced people are in the data.

## Fines Were Common

A fine was ordered for 151 people (47%), about the same share as those who received prison. Restitution was ordered for 127 (40%).

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 100 people (31%), with a median term of 24 months. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to anyone, which is 0 people.

## Pleas and Trials

Guilty pleas were entered by 310 people (97%), and 11 were convicted after a trial. Of those who pleaded guilty, 98% had a written plea agreement and 2% did not.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 4 months. After a trial it was 3 months, based on only 7 people sent to prison. Neither median says much by itself. The 11 people who went to trial are too few for a firm comparison.

## Against the Guideline Range

Of the 320 people with range information, 119 (37%) were sentenced within the range. Below the range at the government's request were 111 (35%), and below the range without a request were 90 (28%). No one was sentenced above the range, which is 0%.

Criminal history was low: 83% were in the lowest criminal history category I, and less than 1% were in the highest, VI.

## A Shorter Median in Recent Years

In fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 104 people were sentenced and the median prison term was 12 months. In fiscal years 2020 to 2025, 217 people were sentenced and the median was 2 months.

The table shows medians of 19 months in 2017 and 0.2 months in 2021, and 0.3 months in 2025\. The number sentenced was 18 in 2020 and 54 in 2021\. The records show that the median changed but cannot say why.

| 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%            |

## What Cannot Be Seen

The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so only federal numbers are shown. The data has no acquittals or dismissals, and it does not describe the substances, the conduct, or the setting. The gap between 0.5 months and 12 months shows how varied the prison terms were.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2Q1.2 (321), from the U.S. Sentencing Commission's 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)
- [§2Q2.1 Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2q2-1-offenses-involving-fish-wildlife-and-plants/) (same guideline chapter part)
- [§2Q1.3 Mishandling of Other Environmental Pollutants: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2q1-3-mishandling-of-other-environmental-pollutants/) (same guideline chapter part)
- [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.