The EPA has settled claims with three defendants to pay fines totaling $170,000 for violating Clean Air Act regulations during the removal of asbestos from buildings in Hayward, California in 2000. Over 31,000 square feet of asbestos-containing materials, including acoustic ceiling, tiles, linoleum, insulation, fire-proofing, and stucco where removed from the former Hayward Chiropractic College and dumped in open containers. The asbestos removal project was also the subject of a criminal investigation of the building owner, who under a plea agreement served four months under house arrest and paid a $5,000 criminal penalty. Asbestos is a known human carcinogen and classified by the EPA as a hazardous air pollutant that poses a significant risk to human health, including cancers such as mesothelioma and lung cancer.
For the full article, go to yosemite.epa.gov.
For more information about the EPA’s regulation of asbestos, go to epa.gov/asbestos.
