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

A story on Justice News Flash.com reports the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has cited two Vermont companies, a demolition firm and a real estate company, saying they violated federal laws by neglecting to inspect for asbestos prior to beginning work on a job site and failing to properly dispose of debris possibly containing asbestos. The companies, Trust and CRC Evacuating, were charged with violations of the Clean Air Act and the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants.

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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.

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In a news release dated Sept. 30, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it was fining the Los Angeles Department or Water and Power (LADWP) just over $9,000 for violations of the Clean Air Act asbestos regulations. In the release, the EPA says the city agency demolished structures without propertly notifying the EPA.

Although the LADWP owned the structures, located near Niland, Calif., government regulations still require that the EPA be notified of demolition before it occurs, in compliance with the Natural Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants regulations for asbestos.

The measure is in place as a precaution, to avoid accidentally releasing harmful asbestos fibers into the air, says Deborah Jordan, director of the Air Division for the EPA’s Pacific and Southwest region. She is quoted as saying, “We can avoid creating a public health threat from airborne asbestos by following the safeguards required by law.”

The inhalation of asbestos can cause serious illness including asbestosis and mesothelioma, a deadly cancer affecting the lining of the lungs and abdomen.

The news release did not report any danger as a result of the building demolition.

Judge Donald Molloy has set a status hearing for all parties involved in the W.R. Grace criminal case in Missoula, Montana, Oct. 24. The criminal charges were initially filed in 2005, and alleges W.R. Grace knowingly endangered the lives of mine workers and other Libby, Montana, residents. The company is charged with charged with violating the Clean Air Act by releasing asbestos-contaminated vermiculite from its mine there. Asbestos disease devastated the town of Libby, affecting miners who worked in the now-closed vermiculite mine.

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Monday the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the appeals of W.R. Grace & Co. and six of its top executives, who are charged with violating the Clean Air Act by releasing asbestos-contaminated vermiculite from a mine in Libby, Montana, according to a story today in the Missoulian. The decision comes two years after the initial criminal filing against the company, which has been delayed pending the filing of numerous legal motions.

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In August 2007, Occupational Health & Safety magazine reported that a Virginia man was jailed for using homeless people to do improper asbestos removal in a government building in Roanoke.

According to the report, two-time convicted felon John Edward Callahan was sentenced to 21 months in prison for improperly removing cancer-causing asbestos from a government building in Roanoke, Va., without following federal environmental laws according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Callahan also used homeless men to conduct the work.

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