Asbestos removal company supervisor sentenced for illegal practices

According to US EPA, Branko Lazic, 42, of Haledon, N.J., was sentenced January 11 in federal court in Philadelphia for the illegal removal of asbestos pipe insulation at a Pennsylvania elementary school. U.S. District Judge Juan R. Sanchez sentenced Mr. Lazic to three years probation, including six months home confinement, $6,097 in restitution, $100 special assessment, and 50 hours community service in the Ambler, Pa. area.

Lazic was the supervisor on an asbestos removal job performed in June 2002 at the Mattison Elementary School in Ambler. Lazic and his company were responsible for the removal of more than 600 asbestos-insulated pipe elbows located in the ceilings throughout the school. The job required that the asbestos insulation be removed in accordance with the Clean Air Act. An information filed in the case on June 6, 2007, alleged that on the weekend of June 29, 2002, asbestos was improperly removed. Lazic failed to ensure that asbestos was properly removed when he permitted another person to supervise the asbestos removal on the first floor of the elementary school, knowing that there was a high probability that the asbestos removal under this person’s supervision would be done without adequately wetting the asbestos.An investigation by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office – Environmental Crimes Section and EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division discovered that instead of using the required removal equipment and techniques, asbestos-insulated elbows were removed without proper containment and with no water to suppress airborne asbestos particles. Lazic pleaded guilty to criminal violations of the Clean Air Act on June 14, 2007.

The Clean Air Act requires work practice safeguards in asbestos removal and renovation projects to prevent the release of asbestos fibers into the air. Asbestos is a known carcinogen, and inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause serious health risks. Using water and equipment, such as glove bags, and other containment measures, prevents the release of asbestos fibers and minimizes the chance of exposure.

Dry asbestos chunks and fibers were found several months after the removal. As a precaution the school district voluntarily shut down the school until follow-up inspections and air monitoring confirmed that the building could be safely reoccupied.

The case was prosecuted by the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, with assistance provided by EPA’s mid-Atlantic regional office.

Man sent to jail for illegal disposal of asbestos

EPA’s website reported recently that Dylan Starnes, an employee of the Atlanta based Environmental Contracting Company, was sentenced to 33 months in prison and three years of probation for improperly removing asbestos from a low-income public housing project on St. Thomas. In addition to the jail sentence, Starnes must also pay for the cost of medical surveillance required for any people who were exposed to the asbestos. Starnes was sentenced July 27, 2007.

In 2002, Starnes, a licensed and certified asbestos contractor, was hired by the Virgin Islands Housing Authority to oversee the remediation of more than 220,000 sq. ft. of asbestos and to conduct air monitoring in the housing project. The evidence at trial established that Starnes and Cleve Allan George failed to follow applicable federal regulations for asbestos removal outlined in their work plan, a violation of federal law. George is the owner of the Virgin Island Asbestos Removal Co.

Specifically, Starnes and George were convicted of failing to ensure that asbestos-containing material remained wet until contained, discharging visible asbestos emissions to the outside air, and failing to use one of the required emission control and waste treatment methods. The defendants were also found guilty of filing false air monitoring documents with the Virgin Islands Housing Authority and falsely labeling asbestos as non-friable when it was sent to Florida for disposal.

NOTE: Companies need to pay special attentions to disposal of asbestos material. This enforcemnet case is a good example of how falsifying records (labels in this case) can have severe consequences.