The contractor’s supervisor on a job to remove asbestos pipe insulation from an Ambler, Pennsylvania elementary school has been sentenced to three years probation, which includes six months of home confinement, $6,097 in restitution, $100 special assessment, and 50 hours community service. The contractor failed to use required equipment and techniques to prevent asbestos fibers from being released. The asbestos was removed without wetting the materials or using glove bags or other containment methods to prevent fibers from escaping into the air. Months later, dry chunks of asbestos and loose asbestos fibers were found in the school. The school district voluntarily closed the elementary school until air monitoring showed that the asbestos hazard was removed and it was safe for students and faculty to reoccupy the building. An EPA spokesperson said that it will continue to vigilantly prosecute cases involving improper asbestos removal in schools.
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