The New York Department of Environmental Quality fined a woman in Albany $8,417 for “allowing an unlicensed person to perform an asbestos abatement project.” She appealed the fine, for DEQ officials report that the appeal has already been denied. The homeowner claims that the workers were hired only to paint, but DEQ inspectors claim that siding and a stovepipe with insulation tape had been removed from the house and left outdoors. Tests showed that the siding contained 10 percent asbestos, and the insulation tape was 50 percent asbestos. The siding and the tape were torn and/or broken when they were removed from the house, making release of asbestos fibers from the aged products far more likely. The materials should have been labeled and disposed of in air-tight containers.
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