Connecticut Asbestos Removal Firm to Pay Hefty Fine

NEW HAVEN - In an agreement reached between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut, a long-standing case of asbestos handling violations comes to a close. The two parties agreed on the imposition of fines totaling $300,000 against two Connecticut companies, Anderson-Wilcox Corp. (AWC) and Cutting Edge Concepts II, LLC (CEC). Both companies were charged with numerous violations of the federal government's Clean Air Act (CAA) after the two firms began the renovation of a large commercial property owned by CEC. The charges stem from the companies' improper handling and disposal of asbestos containing materials at the renovation site.

The 19,500 square foot CEC property is located at 116 Crown Street in New Haven. Dating back to the late 19th century, the masonry structure had been undergoing extensive renovations and repairs during the spring and summer of 2002, the work having been performed by AWC, a local commercial construction firm. As the result of an anonymous tip, the EPA had been alerted to the fact that AWC had failed to comply with stringent state and federal regulations that govern the handling of asbestos during such demolition or renovation projects.

According to court documents, CEC had hired AWC to complete the renovations at the Crown Street site. Problems ensued after AWC hired a subcontractor to perform some of the demolition and renovation work at the building. The subcontractor had been given instructions by both CEC and AWC to remove dangerous, cancer-causing asbestos containing materials from the building and dispose of them in open-topped dumpsters that were located on the property.

Asbestos is a ubiquitous, naturally occurring mineral that is commonly found in countries around the world. Asbestos may be located in the soil or in outcroppings, and the material exists in several chemical composition, type, and color forms. In the early 1970s, researchers and health professionals confirmed the fact that airborne, microscopic fibers of asbestos-once inhaled into the lungs-could lead to serious respiratory diseases as many as 50 years subsequent to the initial exposure.

Asbestos exposures are credited with the onset of a variety of lung ailments, including the deadly killer malignant pleural mesothelioma, a highly aggressive and incurable form of cancer. No safe level of exposure to asbestos fibers has ever been established, and the illegal asbestos handling procedures at the New Haven construction site put the health of workers and the general public at risk. Federal prosecutors and officials from the EPA charge that both CEC and AWC were aware of the likelihood of asbestos containing materials in the Crown Street structure, yet they chose not to conduct a required asbestos survey prior to hiring the subcontractor to remove demolition materials from the building. Worse, instructing the subcontractor to deposit these contaminated materials in ordinary dumpsters further exacerbated the risk to human health.

Both companies were eventually charged specifically with CAA violations, as well as violations of the National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP). CAA and NESHAP regulations require any person or company performing construction activities at any site where the presence of asbestos is likely to: conduct a thorough asbestos evaluation of the site prior to commencing work; submit written notification to the EPA or appropriate state authority of an intent to perform asbestos related construction activities; ensure that asbestos containing debris is kept wet to prevent fibers from becoming airborne; properly label all containers used to store asbestos containing debris, and finally, ensure that all asbestos containing materials are disposed of at an approved site. Both Connecticut companies paid no heed to these regulations, and many Connecticut residents are wondering if a $300,000 fine is punishment enough.

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