In a settlement with the Ohio EPA, RLR Investments, LLC, has paid a $227,700 penalty for violating the state’s asbestos emission control standards at RLR’s Urban Resort property, formerly a Days Inn, in Dayton. The sum is the largest civil penalty ever collected for asbestos violations in Ohio. The Ohio Attorney General’s office, which handled the case, reports that while RLR was renovating Dayton’s Days Inn Hotel in 2003, inspectors were denied access to the work site three times, and on one occasion, the inspectors were forced to obtain a search warrant. When given access, the inspectors found that RLR had: failed to notify the Ohio EPA of the asbestos abatement project; failed to remove asbestos before breaking up or disturbing the materials in accordance with EPA procedures; and failed to repair, encapsulate or remove all friable asbestos prior to removing asbestos emission controls. When asbestos fibers are in a dry state and disturbed, they can be released to the air and can pose health risks for respiratory diseases, cancer and mesothelioma.
For the full story, go to the Wilmington News Journal.
