Massachusetts Real Estate Company Indicted for Asbestos Violations

Worcester, MA - Mayo Group Development, LLC, a Boston-based real estate investment, development, and management company was recently indicted by the Worcester County grand jury, which charges the realty company with numerous violations of the federal government's Clean Air Act. The indictment stems from the Mayo Group's alleged improper handling and disposal of materials containing asbestos, an extremely hazardous substance known to cause cancer in humans.

Jill Butterworth, deputy press secretary for the state Attorney General, reports that the Mayo Group is alleged to have failed on two occasions to provide the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) with notices of its intent to remove asbestos from one of its Worcester Commons properties, a 10-story building located at 50 Franklin Street. Ms. Butterworth said the indictment also charges the realty company with failing to conduct a full asbestos survey prior to beginning renovations at the building, as well as twice failing to comply with proper asbestos abatement and handling procedures. Finally, the realty group is charged with disposing of asbestos in a manner that violated the Clean Air Act and put the health of local citizens at risk.

Now largely banned in the U.S. and many countries around the world, asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that has a high resistance to heat, electricity, and damage from corrosive chemicals. Chrysotile asbestos is one of the most common forms of the material, and its flexible fiber structure once made the substance ideal for use as an insulation material. Asbestos has a high tensile strength, which caused countless manufacturers to include it in many cementitious products used for house siding and roofing shingles; in many older residential and commercial structures, asbestos can be found in floor and ceiling tiles, as well as numerous other construction materials.

When asbestos products are fractured or disturbed, microscopic asbestos fibers can become airborne and inhaled into the lungs where they can remain undetected and dormant for up to 50 years before causing a number of respiratory diseases. The most serious asbestos-caused disease is known as malignant pleural mesothelioma, which is an aggressive, incurable, and inevitably fatal form of lung cancer. No level of exposure to airborne asbestos fibers is considered to be safe, and the hazardous material must be handled with extreme care.

According to the indictment against the Mayo Group, in February of 2007, DEP investigators observed large amounts of demolition debris being thrown from windows at the Worcester Commons building. Investigators also found demolition debris in piles inside the structure, as well as in a construction trailer on site. Subsequent inspections of the demolition debris revealed the presence of numerous types of asbestos containing materials, much of which had already been scheduled for disposal at a local landfill that is not a DEP approved asbestos disposal location.

It is reported that the Mayo Group used its own employees for the demolition project, none of whom were outfitted with approved breathing devices designed to protect them from airborne asbestos fiber inhalation. Apparently, none of the realty workers were aware of the dire health risks associated with the demolition work, and one can only speculate as to whether any of the workers will engage in any type of litigation against the Mayo Group.

To make matters worse, during the course of the demolition, the Franklin Street structure was occupied by a number of individuals who live in the building-individuals who may have been exposed to airborne asbestos fibers that could come back to haunt them many years down the road. The Mayo Group will be summonsed for an appearance in Worcester Superior Court in the near future.

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