Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Feb. 5 that Anderson-Wilcox Corp. and Cutting Edge Concepts II LLC have agreed to pay a fine of $300,000 for improper removal and disposal of asbestos at a New Haven, Conn., site. This is a settlement agreement between the companies, the EPA, and the U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Connecticut.

According to the EPA news release, the violations occurred  in the spring and summer of 2002 at a vacant commercial property. The building in question dates back to the 1800s. The property is owned by Cutting Edge Concepts. Anderson Wilcox is a construction company hired by the owner to perform renovation and construction work at the property.

The release states, “Despite being aware of the likelihood that asbestos was present throughout the basement of the building, the two companies failed to conduct any bulk sampling of suspected material to confirm the presence of asbestos. Nor did they follow proper procedures for the safe removal and disposal of asbestos. ”

The EPA says the companies instead directed a subcontractor to remove suspected asbestos-containing materials from the basement and dispose of these materials in ordinary trash dumpsters. The subcontractor also removed a large amount of vinyl floor tile that were also believed to contain asbestos, and these also were disposed of in open-air trash dumpsters.

The companies were accused of violating the federal Clean Air Act and the National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants for asbestos.

Exposure to airborne asbestos particles can result in serious asbestos related diseases, including asbestosis and mesothelioma, a deadly cancer.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 6th, 2009 at 2:54 pm and is filed under Mesothelioma Links, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.