Vermont Firm Violated EPA Asbestos Rules

A flooring company from the town of South Barre, Vermont, has been cited by the US Environmental Protection Agency for disregarding laws concerning asbestos removal and remediation. Crews with the firm of Morrison-Clark, Inc., worked on a project to remove and dispose of flooring tiles at the Main Street Middle School in the state capitol city of Montpelier.

Inspectors with the state worker safety bureau found that the company did not follow proper procedures when disposing of vinyl asbestos floor tiles. The mismanaged disposal caused the school to be shut down for several weeks during the academic year. The EPA investigation found that the company also violated National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Asbestos and the Clean Air Act during the project.

Morrison-Clark could face severe fines, over thirty thousand dollars a day, from the EPA due to the asbestos violations. According to EPA reports, the firm did not offer the required written notice to the agency before work on the project began. EPA rules state that any firm that is planning to handle and dispose of dangerous materials such as asbestos must file a plan with the agency and gain approval for that plan before they can start handling hazardous material. The EPA also cited the company for not wetting the asbestos material to keep fibers from becoming airborne until workers could properly collect and remove the debris, as well as the company's failure to manage and dispose of the asbestos waste created during the project.

In addition, the school district has filed a civil suit against the company requesting nearly ninety thousand dollars in damages. School officials have cited the figure as the costs the district incurred during the project as a result of the company's mismanagement of the asbestos removal project. Due to the inefficient methods used during the project, the school had to delay its opening from August 28 to September 2.

A representative for Morrison-Clark stated that the lawsuit and the fines could create such a financial burden for the company that they would be forced to shut their doors. Company leaders have requested a hearing with federal environmental officials to contest the charges. The company claims that the vinyl asbestos tile constituted a "non-regulated material", and, thus, the removal project did not fall under the EPA's purview. They also deny charges that work crews did not take adequate precautions to wet the asbestos material and have cited numerous witness who will testify to that effect.

Vermont Department of Health officials ordered the school to be closed in July of 2008 when inspectors saw Morrison-Clark crews employing mechanical tile chippers to cut out the asbestos tiles. According to their report, the company did not provide sufficient ventilation or adequate safety gear for workers who removed, handled or disposed of the toxic materials. The report expressed concern that using such devices as tile chippers could cause the asbestos fibers bound in the tile to become airborne. When asbestos fibers become airborne, workers who breathe them in can contract mesothelioma, a rare and deadly form of lung cancer.

Sources: WCAX, TimesArgus.com

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