The county assessor of Contra Costa, California has been fined due to improper removal of asbestos containing materials. Allegedly Gus Kramer violated a number of Bay Area Air Quality Management District regulations which resulted in fines totaling $5,000.

The minimum fine for such violations is said to be $1,000.

Violations included no survey being conducted, late notice of demolition, asbestos not being removed before demolition, asbestos being discovered after the completion of the demolition, improper containment of waste materials, and failure to keep waste records.

The violations took place as far back as January 2006 at which time Kramer demolished a house owned by him located on Bella Vista Avenue.

Mr. Kramer did not appeal to the decision nor did he refrain from paying his fine but he did make a statement regarding his disagreement with the decision. Kramer stated that he felt that the district was wrong in their decision and that the district makes it to complicated for the average citizen to demolish a property.

Spokeswoman for the district Jennifer Alverson has stated that, “We take all violations seriously, and we all know the health effects of asbestos.” Alverson also stated that, “It sounds like things were done improperly from the beginning. If he had used a certified asbestos remover, a lot of problems could have been avoided.”

Exposure to asbestos can occur whenever asbestos products are disturbed, especially if these materials are removed improperly and unsafely. Exposure to asbestos is linked to the onset of mesothelioma, a fatal cancer.

The city of Geneva, Ohio had originally planned on purchasing a property located on East Main Street to be used as a parking garage but the discovery of asbestos in the existing building may put those plans on hold. The building which is located at 51 and 53 East Main Street has now been found to be highly contaminated with asbestos and must be cleaned up before the building can be razed.

City Manager Jim Pearson has stated that the asbestos was found in the ceiling of the building during an inspection conducted as a pre-purchase requirement. Pearson has further stated that the existence of the dangerous toxin is cause for serious concern.

Asbestos fibers that are disturbed are known to cause a number of different health problems, many of which can be fatal. These health problems include asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma among others. Often by the time diagnosis occurs treatment options are very limited.

The abatement of the asbestos materials is expected to cost approximately $12,000 which is much less than the original estimate of $30,000. Most of the drywall present in the ceiling of the 53 East Main Street portion of the building will have to be removed according to Pearson. The city will be asking the owner of the building to reduce the original sale price of the building the amount of the cost for the asbestos abatement.

Workers in Oneida County, NY returned this morning to work at the Oneida County Office Building after the building was shut down following the discovery of a small amount of asbestos in the buildings basement during a routine cleanup while the building was closed on Tuesday. The building is used by over seven-hundred employees who were not allowed in the building while asbestos testing was being conducted.

The heads of the various Oneida County departments were allowed to re-enter the building at approximately three o’clock yesterday afternoon after it was determined that no asbestos was found in the air samples taken throughout the building.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Engineering of the Public Works Department Mark Laramie, “They were unable to detect even a single fiber on any of the samples they took throughout the building.” Laramie also stated that, “We’re well below any of the established clearance levels through the EPA or the New York State Department of Labor.”

According to reports the asbestos that was found was located near the building’s ventilation system which is why the county executive closed the building down for approximately 48 hours. All the filters in the system were replaced before the building was reopened. Employees will receive a memo regarding the testing results as well as other activities that took place while the building was shut down.

The Environmental Protection Agency has settled with three Maryland schools and one Maryland school district sited for asbestos-related violations. The schools and school district involved allegedly failed to keep proper documentation regarding the presence, inspection, and management of asbestos-containing materials in the schools.

The Dorchester County School’s Board of Education as well as St. Timothy’s School located in Stevenson, the First English Evangelical Lutheran preschool and kindergarten in Baltimore, and Saint Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran school in Kingsville all had allegedly violated the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act.

Violations of the act include not having all the district’s school buildings in the asbestos management plan, failing to conduct initial asbestos inspections of all school buildings, neglecting submitting an asbestos management plan for those schools involved, failing to inspect asbestos materials every three years, and failure to supply information to parents, employee organizations, and teachers regarding the schools’ asbestos management plans.

All of the schools are now in compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency regulations and the Environmental Protection Agency has determined that none of the buildings occupants have been exposed to asbestos due to the violations.

St. Timothy’s spent an estimated $17,195, Dorchester County Schools $55,250, First English Evangelical $3,000, and Saint Paul’s $5,682 to come into compliance with the EPA regulations. First English Evangelical also received $8,000 in penalties for their violations.

According to recent news the Bethlehem Area School District is seeking funding to demolish the old Northeast Middle School but school board President Loretta Leeson has stated that they do not have any money available at the time for the project. Leeson has further stated that they would need to borrow the money to tear the school down.

Officials of the school district are hoping for the approval to spend nearly $30,000 to bid on asbestos abatement needed before the demolition can take place.

Removal of asbestos containing materials can cause them to become airborne if not removed properly and can lead to exposure to residents nearby. Asbestos exposure is known to cause a range of health problems including but not limited to asbestosis, mesothelioma, and lung cancer. Often the result of these diseases is death only a short time following diagnosis.

Northeast Middle School is one of two that are on the same property site and once acted as the main campus for freshmen for nearly three years. Now Liberty High School freshmen have returned to their own campus in order for demolition of Northeast to begin.

The district is supposed to have no more than one school building on the site by the summer of 2011. Demolition of the school is expected to take approximately nine-months following the abatement of asbestos containing materials in the school.

According to recent reports residents of Silver Creek, New York are worried that a building they hope to have torn down may contain asbestos materials. Residents worry that the dilapidated building is bringing or will bring in the future the property values of their own homes down and are hoping along with village officials that the city will qualify as a Brownfield site.

A Brownfield site is defined as a site in which dangerous toxic substances, such as asbestos, and pollutants may exist and impede the safe destruction of existing structures on the property as well as the redevelopment of such a property. Despite the condition of the old Seegert’s Dairy building, though, village officials worry that it won’t qualify for the Brownfield grant and that the village may have to come up with the money to handle the situation itself.

At this point there are no funds available to appropriate towards demolition and reconstruction of the site through the county. The village is awaiting Environmental Protection Agency assessment along with three additional Chautauqua County municipalities which have applied for a share of a $1,000,000 Brownfield grant.

Mayor of Silver Creek Kurt Lindstrom has stated that if the building doesn’t meet Environmental Protection Agency requirements he his unable at this time to state what the villages options may be. Lindstrom also has stated that he his unable at this time to determine the cost of the Seegert buildings demolition and subsequent cleanup.

Pittsburgh attorney Robert Daley filed 900 asbestos-related and wrongful death lawsuits on October 29th in the Kanawha Circuit Court. In the suits were named two national railroad companies thought to be responsible for the plaintiffs health problems related to asbestos exposure.

According to the lawsuit many of the plaintiffs in the cases suffer from asbestos-related respiratory problems such as mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or one of a number of other related conditions. The suit alleges that these health problems are the result of the plaintiff’s exposure to asbestos containing materials while employed with either the CSX Railroad Company or Norfolk Southern Railway.

Of the 900 individual lawsuits 760 of them were filed against CSX railroad, in this number is also included the wrongful death claims, and 240 of them were filed against Norfolk Southern Railway. Many of these cases are reported as being dismissed during the summer months by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and are re-filings of those cases.

Daley and his plaintiffs are alleging that the two railroad companies failed to protect the health of their employees by not providing the proper information and protection regarding asbestos exposure.
According to court documents it cost over $110,000 to file the first 760 lawsuits. The plaintiffs, which are either individuals who worked for one of the companies or the estates of individuals who previously worked for one of the two companies, are all seeking compensatory damages.

On October 31st a lawsuit was filed in Madison County Circuit Court that named Norfolk Southern Railway Company as being responsible for the development of Don W. Smith’s pulmonary system and lung injuries.

In the suit Don W. Smith has stated that it was during the time that he was employed with Norfolk Southern Railway Company as a locomotive engine operator that he was exposed to numerous fumes and particulate matter including dangerous asbestos fibers. Smith alleges that this is what led to his chronic pulmonary condition.

Mr. Smith feels that the dangers of working around such fumes and particles should have been anticipated by his employer and proper safety equipment supplied in order to limit the danger of inhaling such fumes and particles. He also feels that those dangers should have been disclosed to him upon employment.

Don W. Smith has stated that because of his development of the chronic pulmonary condition he has had to suffer considerable mental anguish and physical pain as well as incurred significant medical related debt. Smith further claims that his disease has denied him the ability to carry out his normal course of employment and enjoyment in life due to complications caused by his disease. Smith is asking for unspecified damages in the two-count lawsuit as well as compensation for any costs incurred due to his illness and filing the lawsuit.

According to recent news a Michigan woman has filed an asbestos-related suit claiming that her development of mesothelioma is the fault of 29 defendant corporations which she named in the suit. In the lawsuit filed on October 31st in Madison County Circuit Court Anna Beaglehole states that she was diagnosed with the deadly asbestos-caused disease on July 24, 2008.

Beaglehole claims that she was exposed to asbestos containing materials through both first and secondhand exposure. She states that she worked as a bookkeeper and cashier at Kroger in Michigan from 1943 to 1958.

Furthermore she claims that she was exposed to the dangerous fibers through her late husband while he was employed as an assembly line worker at Ferguson Tractor Company from 1948 to 1950, as a line worker at Aircraft Precision Company during the 1950’s and at Chevrolet Motors Engineering from 1960 to 1987.

Anna Beaglehole is also claiming secondhand exposure through her father as well who worked as a cement finisher for Ford Motor Company.

It is felt by Anna that the consequences of such first and secondhand exposure should have been foreseen by the companies named in the suit and that proper safety precautions should have been taken. Because theses precautions were not taken she claims to have been denied large amounts of money due to her development of the asbestos-caused disease mesothelioma.

Anna Beaglehole is seeking punitive, exemplary, compensatory, and economic damages totaling in upwards of $500,000 in the nine-count lawsuit.

An asbestos study recently done at a former Pennsylvania school has led to the discovery of a significant amount of the dangerous material throughout the building. The former Reinhard School in Hellertown dates back as far as 1910 and has existed throughout many years during which asbestos was commonly used in various building materials.

The two phase study was conducted in October of this year by Barry Isett and Associates who told counselors at the Borough Council meeting on Monday that the building housing the former school contains more than 13,000 square feet of asbestos-containing vinyl tile.

According to Chris Koch of Barry Isett and Associates there is 13,000 square feet of the tile in the newer part of the building which was constructed sometime during the 1950’s as well as an additional 1,800 square feet in the older part of the building.

Koch has stated that on a more positive note, though, at least the adhesive used on the tiles does not contain any additional asbestos which would require a more complicated abatement procedure. Koch also confirmed that the cancer and mesothelioma causing substance was not located in any of the drop ceiling located throughout the building.

Although the report from Barry Isett and Associates is not yet complete they have set out a tentative timeframe for remediation of the asbestos tiles which may include demolition either in part or completely. Following completion of the report a bid package will be put together and sent to contractors.