(FOND DU LAC) Two men have been charged for illegally dumping mercury-filled lamps in Brandon. Leonard Hughes and Zachary Ballard both face multiple charges for allegedly dumping or storing more than 35,000 fluorescent lamps containing mercury into a stream that feeds into the Horicon Marsh.
Fond du Lac County prosecutors allege that in 2022, Hughes paid Ballard $500 to allow him to dump several trailers full of light bulbs on a property in Brandon. A Department of Natural Resources warden says he saw numerous broken and unbroken lamps on the property and pushed into a stream on the property. That stream flows into a river that eventually ends in the Horicon Marsh. Exposure to mercury can cause serious health effects in humans, fish, and wildlife.
Hughes and Ballard appeared in court separately on Tuesday. Their next court dates are on Oct. 30.
