Asbestos News Roundup: 3.24.11

March 24th, 2011. By LucyC

A roundup of recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of. An ongoing list of asbestos hot spots from the Asbestos News Roundup archive appears on our asbestos map.

Asbestos Lawsuits

Jefferson City, Mo: A St. Louis resident is facing a lawsuit brought by the Attorney General for Missouri, Chris Koster, over allegations that during the demolition and removal of asbestos-containing materials at a building on Page Avenue in St. Louis, he violated the Air Conservation Law of Missouri.

Robert Collins is facing three violations, specifically that he failed 1) to inspect the building for asbestos before he started the demolition; 2) failed to put measures in place that would deal with any airborne dust and prevent it from escaping the building; and 3) that he did not notify the Department of Natural Resources 10 days in advance of the scheduled demolition.

“Missouri’s Air Conservation Law was enacted to protect both citizen’s health and our environment,” Koster said, “The attorney general’s Office will not look the other way when these violations occur.”

The AG has asked the court to issue permanent and preliminary injunctions prohibiting Collins from further violating the Missouri Air Conservation Law. Furthermore, Koster has asked the court to assess a $10,000 penalty for each day that Collins was in violation of the law, and that Collins pay for court costs.(LegalNewsLine.com)

Lynnfield, MA: According to a press release issued by Attorney General Martha Coakley, a Lynnfield asbestos removal company, its owners and an employee have been indicted for the improper removal and disposal of asbestos for work performed on numerous public and private buildings in the cities of Lynn, Beverly and Marblehead.

AEI Environmental, LLC (AEI), David Harder, Jr., age 47, and Julie Rosati, age 51, of Lynnfield, were each indicted on charges of violating the Massachusetts Clean Air Act (12 counts), violating the Massachusetts Solid Waste Act (2 counts), and Evasion of Unemployment Insurance (4 counts). Harder and Luiz Dias, age 43, of Pelham, New Hampshire, were also indicted on charges of Filing False Statements for the Protection of the Environment, and Conspiracy to File False Environmental reports. Rosati was also charged with Filing False Statements for the Protection of the Environment.

The indictments are the result of an investigation by the Massachusetts Environmental Crimes Strike Force (ECSF), an interagency unit which is overseen by AG Coakley, MassDEP Commissioner Kenneth L. Kimmell and Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Richard K. Sullivan, Jr. The ECSF comprises prosecutors from the Attorney General’s Office, Environmental Police Officers assigned to the Attorney General’s Office, and investigators and engineers from the MassDEP which investigate and prosecute crimes that harm or threaten the state’s water, air, or land and that pose a significant threat to human health.

According to authorities, in September 2010, the ECSF received information that AEI and its owners, Harder and Rosati, were illegally storing bags of asbestos at a self-storage facility in Lynnfield. Further investigation of the facility found hundreds of bags containing asbestos debris from work allegedly performed by the company. Under the Clean Air Act, the storage units were not a permissible location for the storage of asbestos debris.

Authorities allege that Harder, Rosati, AEI, and Dias, an employee of AEI, engaged in the illegal and improper removal of asbestos at numerous locations in Lynn, Beverly and Marblehead, including several public buildings and schools, as well as other locations in Massachusetts, without properly notifying MassDEP. The removal of asbestos must be performed by a licensed contractor pursuant to MassDEP regulations with notification as to when the removal will occur. According to authorities, during the relevant time period the defendants were not licensed to perform asbestos removal. While contracted for asbestos removal services, Harder would allegedly convince other contractors working on location to file the asbestos notification with MassDEP, indicating that removal would be performed by another entity.

Harder, Rosati, and Dias also allegedly falsified documents that are used by MassDEP to ensure that asbestos work is performed safely.  Authorities further allege that while engaged in asbestos removal the defendants failed to adhere to proper procedure for asbestos abatement.

Further investigation of AEI and the defendants by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development’s Division of Unemployment Assistance (EOLWD\DUA) found that Harder and Rosati allegedly failed to make any unemployment insurance contributions for their employees.

An Essex County Grand Jury returned indictments against AEI Environmental, Harder, Jr., Rosati, and Dias on March 18, 2011. The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned in Essex Superior Court on April 4, 2011. (mass.gov) 

Asbestos Hot Spots

Wallingford, CT:  $342,000 has been approved by the town council of Wallingford, for distribution to the Board of Education so that the district can get started on asbestos abatement projects in nine of its 11 school buildings. The funds came from the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority.

The work is planned for the summer months, when the schools are vacant. Salvatore Menzo, the Superintendent of Schools, said the asbestos removal are “low-impact projects” and resulted from a recent review done by the district. Menzo said that the state will reimburse the district for just under 51 percent of the cost of the removal.  (CTpostchronicle.com)

Tags: Asbestos, Asbestos Mesothelioma, asbestos_mesothelioma

This was posted on Thursday, March 24th, 2011 at 2:08 pm and is filed under Asbestos Mesothelioma, Emerging Issues . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.