Revenuers Bust North Georgia Still

Nope! It wasn't my moonshine.

Details from the Gainesville Times.

ATLANTA (AP) -- Two men have been indicted on charges of running a moonshine still in the Chattahoochee National Forest in the North Georgia mountains.

Two other people have been indicted on charges of possessing the distilled spirits from the still, which was hidden in the forest in Rabun County and operated between January 2005 and February 2006, according to the criminal indictment in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia, released Friday.

The health risk comes from lead poisoning, because the crude equipment used - such as a car radiator used in this distillation apparatus - often leaks dangerous amounts of lead into the liquor.

Samples taken by federal agents at the site showed that the distilled spirits had lead levels of 1,508 parts per billion - more than a hundred times what federal environmental officials consider the safe level for drinking water.

"There are several reasons that people get involved with this," Jackson said. "They range from the thrill of consumption of something that is forbidden fruit, something illegal, something that may be steeped in tradition here in Georgia, as well as a a defiance of authority."

I notice one of penalties included taking the cars used in the moonshine business.