FL men sentenced for exposing homeless to asbestos
Tom Boland (wgcp@earthlink.net)
Wed, 21 Jan 1998 14:28:44 -0800 (PST)
FWD
Subject: PA FLORIDA MEN SENTENCED FOR EXPOSING HOMELESS TO ASBESTOS
From: GROUP PRESS 202-260-4355 <PRESS@epamail.epa.gov>
Date: 1998/01/20
Message-ID: <01ISLQT8886U8WZRSW@mr.rtpnc.epa.gov>
Newsgroups: gov.us.fed.epa.announce
SCROLL FOR RELEASE: JANUARY 16, 1998
FLORIDA MEN SENTENCED FOR EXPOSING HOMELESS TO ASBESTOS
On Jan. 7, Arthur Newman and Lawrence Rothman, both of Miami, Fla.,
were sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of
Florida in Miami for violating the Clean Air Act by renovating a
warehouse without following federal procedures for the safe removal of
1,600 square feet of ceiling tiles which contained asbestos. Despite
specific warnings about their actions and the posting of signs at the
job site by an inspector from the Dade County Department of
Environmental Resource Management (DERM), the defendants proceeded
with the project in violation of the National Emission Standards for
Hazardous Air Pollutants. The defendants' illegal actions included
failing to provide advance notice of their project, ignoring the DERM
inspector's warnings that laboratory tests confirmed the presence of
asbestos, and hiring homeless individuals to perform the removal of
asbestos laden material without providing them proper protective gear.
Inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause lung cancer and a lung disease
known as "asbestosis" in people. The defendants were each sentenced
to five months in prison, an additional five months home confinement
and three years of supervised release. In addition, they must
reimburse DERM for expenses incurred during the investigation. The
case was investigated by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division and
DERM.
R-4 ###
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