Illinois former hotel owner to pay $30,000 in asbestos fines
Vithalbhai Patel, owner of a now-demolished Howard Johnson Express Inn in Collinsville, Illinois, has agreed to pay $30,000 to settle a 2007 complaint filed by the Illinois Attorney General. The complaint alleges that Patel allowed asbestos to be removed illegally from the hotel during demolition three years ago. If it approves the settlement, the Illinois Pollution Control Board will paper the agreement.
In 2003, the Illinois EPA stopped demolition at the hotel because they found that Patel had not inspected for asbestos in the structure before beginning the demolition. In fact, inspection showed that the hotel did contain substantial amounts of asbestos, and the IEPA ordered Patel to have the asbestos removed before resuming demolition.
A year and half later, however, the IEPA inspected again and found that asbestos-containing materials had been damaged or stripped from the structure and left on the ground. Leaving asbestos products lying around violates asbestos guidelines designed to protect human health.
The law requires very specific procedures for handling asbestos to prevent people from being exposed to and inhaling the dangerous fibers. Workers are required to wear protective gear, to isolate the work space, to wet the materials to minimize dust and to properly dispose of asbestos materials by double-bagging, labeling and sending it to a disposal facility licensed to receive it.
Asbestos exposure causes mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis and other serious diseases that generally appear decades after the exposure.
For the full story, go to the Belleville News Democrat.
