Connecticut Firms Fined $300,000 for Improper Asbestos Removal

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut, acting on behalf of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), announced they had reached a settlement with two firms charged with improperly removing and disposing of asbestos.

The two firms, Anderson-Wilcox Corporation, a general contractor out of Branford, and Cutting Edge Concepts II LLC, which manages a single-location restaurant at 116 Crown Street in New Haven, were charged with violating provisions of the federal Clean Air Act while renovating the Crown Street property, which occurred during the spring and summer of 2002.

The property, which dates back to the late 1800's, was zoned for commercial use and sitting vacant when Cutting Edge Concepts bought it and subsequently hired Anderson-Wilcox to gut the building and transform the 19,500-square foot brick building into a restaurant.

Anderson-Wilcox then retained a subcontractor to deconstruct the interior, remove the debris and finish the renovation. Despite the likelihood that a building that old contained asbestos, neither of the two primaries, Cutting Edge or Anderson-Wilcox, conducted any sort of inspection to determine if, in fact, asbestos was present in any of the building's component parts, as is required by the EPA.
The subcontractor, acting on orders, removed building components - including at least 20 bags of pipe lagging, a form of insulation used on HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems), and vinyl flooring tile from upper floors believed to contain asbestos - and disposed of these in standard-issue dumpsters kept outside the building in public commons areas.

The companies further failed to insure that these asbestos-laden materials were kept wet to prevent the release of asbestos fibers into the air, and then had the debris taken to non-designated landfills for disposal - a series of actions that exposed both workers and the general public to the hazards of asbestos.

State officials informed the EPA after receiving a tip. The EPA, which has charged both companies with Clean Air Act and National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants violations, cites specific violations which include: failure to inspect the building for asbestos; failure to notify the EPA or a designated authority before starting the renovation; failure to keep asbestos materials wet, or applying containment procedures; failure to properly label containers, and; failure to dispose of the debris at a designated hazardous waste site.

The EPA laws that govern asbestos management and removal include: the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA), the Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Reauthorization Act (ASHARA) and the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Asbestos (NESHAP). In the workplace, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has jurisdiction. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) publishes information on the health hazards that can result from exposure to asbestos. According to the ATSDR, significant exposure to any type of asbestos will increase the risk of lung cancer, mesothelioma and nonmalignant lung and pleural disorders, including asbestosis, pleural plaques, pleural thickening, and pleural effusions.

The settlement requires the companies to pay a fine of $300,000 for the violations. Neither Anderson-Wilcox Corporation nor Cutting Edge Concepts officials have commented on the ruling.

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