Asbestos Removal Firm Cited for Violating Environmental Laws

A contractor in Anchorage, Alaska, that specializes in asbestos abatement and remediation has been cited for violations of the Federal Clean Air Act. Coldfoot Environmental Services, Inc., will pay a fine of $5,100 as punishment for violating the National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants, a portion of the Clean Air Act legislation that deals with the emissions of asbestos into the air, as well as other harmful substances. The company has also agreed to participate in a community service project in conjunction with the US Environmental Protection Agency involving asbestos cleanup efforts.

EPA officials carried out two inspections of Coldfoot, one in August 2007, the other in April 2008. The purpose of these inspections was to determine how the company was dealing with asbestos abatement issues at three demolition sites in southern Alaska. Coldfoot was contracted to remove asbestos at the Subport Building in the state capital of Juneau as well as the Harborview Hospital and a warehouse in the town of Valdez.

Investigators learned that Coldfoot supervisors had not updated the status of their projects with EPA officials and did not include changes to a project’s start date in their reports to the agency. The changes in start dates made the task of scheduling proper government inspections much more difficult. In one instance, a Coldfoot project required work on an additional seventy thousand square feet of space that contained asbestos remains. However, Coldfoot did not notify EPA inspectors of the additional work, preventing them from ascertaining the nature of the project and instituting necessary safety protocols.

According to federal regulations, when workers discover asbestos at a demolition site, the firm must contact EPA officials to determine the extent of the contamination. When an asbestos remediation firm is called in to deal with a large quantity of the substance, they must follow specific protocols to dispose of the material. These steps can include wetting down the debris pile to insure that loose asbestos fibers do not float through the air, as well as insuring that workers who handle and dispose of the material take all necessary precautions, such as wearing safety masks and suits, cataloging the quantity of material and moving the remnants to a landfill equipped to deal with asbestos and other hazardous substances.

The director of operations for the EPA’s office in Alaska, Marcia Combes, expressed her hope that the punishments levied against Coldfoot would serve and an example to other asbestos abatement firms and demolition companies. She stressed that, due to the dangerous nature of asbestos, the EPA requires that companies submit timely and accurate reports to the agency in order to insure that the firms are taking the proper precautions to dispose of the toxic substance.

Coldfoot workers will also be called to work on removing and cleaning up asbestos from a building operated by a community theater organization known as Out North. The nonprofit group runs its exhibits and shows from an older structure that has asbestos insulation on its boiler and throughout its water piping system. Typically, a project like this would bring the company around fifteen thousand dollars. However, due to their earlier violations, Coldfoot will be providing the labor free of charge to the arts center.

Sources: EPA, Anchorage Daily News

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