By SAMMY FRETWELL and JOHN MONK
The State

Landfill operator Chem-Nuclear had persuaded regulators to withhold many of the files, arguing the information included trade secrets. Without the records, Guild lost a court case that could have forced tougher disposal practices at the 37-year-old landfill.

Columbia lawyer Bob Guild says DHEC denied access to records showing the magnitude of pollution at a nuclear waste landfill near Barnwell.
"To say contamination records are trade secrets is just an outrage," said Guild, who has appealed the court's decision.

Guild's troubles highlight a recurring complaint about the state Department of Health and Environmental Control: that it doesn't inform the public well enough and, in some cases, deliberately withholds information that's important to the public. It's a complaint that spans the agency's 35-year history.