The developer of a condominium project in downtown Kansas City has pled guilty in a federal court to violating federal standards for asbestos removal during an extensive renovation project which took place last year.

According to the Kansas City Business Journal, Michael J. Abbott of Manhattan KC LLC waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Scott Wright earlier this week. He is accused of violating the Toxic Substances Control Act and the federal Clean Air Act.

Abbott, age 34, is the managing member of Manhattan KC, which owns The Manhattan, formerly the University Towers building, located on 8th Street in downtown Kansas City.

“By pleading guilty, Abbott admitted that he had removed asbestos-containing material in the then-University Towers building in April and May 2006 without state accreditation as required by the Toxic Substances Control Act,” the article notes.

The Kansas City Health Department was tipped off by an anonymous caller who had witnessed the illegal removal of asbestos from the 12th floor of the towers during the renovation process. Upon examination, the Health Department discovered a large amount of dust and construction debris on that particular floor. Air quality samples contained 3 percent and 4 percent chrysotile asbestos, a dangerous material that is federally regulated.

In court earlier this week, Abbott admitted that regulated asbestos-containing material was removed from the University Towers by unaccredited workers.

Furthermore, as the representative of Manhattan KC, Abbott also pleaded guilty, in a separate but related case, to failing to comply with work practice standards related to the removal of asbestos from University Towers in violation of the Clean Air Act.

Abbott admitted, in a second plea agreement Monday, that “he and other workers had removed regulated asbestos-containing material from the areas of the building involving more than 160 square feet of material without following the Clean Air Act work practice requirements,” the article notes.

Fines of $100,000 will be paid by Abbott and Manhattan KC LLC.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007 at 8:54 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.