Virginia Department of Environmental Quality testing has confirmed that debris from a Navy housing construction site in Newport News, dumped at a Suffolk landfill by a contractor who said it was regular soil fill, contained asbestos. The contractor, who mischaracterized and did not correctly identify the material being dumped, most likely will not be fined because the necessary proof of wrongdoing may not be sufficient. But Cinter Construction Co. Inc. of Williamsburg will have to pay the landfill owner the difference between the cost of dumping clean waste and asbestos-contaminated waste, or about $60,000, said John Holland, the landfill owner. When the asbestos contained in old building materials is disturbed, its fibers may become airborne and breathed into the lungs, resulting in severe health problems such as asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma.
For the full story, go to Newport News, Virginia’s Daily Press.
