Evans Development Corp. of Louisville, Ky., and Stephen Gassman, a work site foreman for Evans, were sentenced in U.S. District Court in Louisville for violating the Clean Air Act.
Evans was ordered to pay a $100,00 fine and pay $20,000 in restitution to the Jefferson County Air Pollution Control District Fund. Gassman was ordered to serve six months in home confinement and spend two years on probation.
The defendants were convicted of causing the illegal removal of asbestos. Specifically, they employed indigent individuals, some of whom were homeless, to remove asbestos without providing them with proper protective equipment. In addition, the people employed to remove the asbestos were not trained or certified in asbestos removal as required by law.
Removal of asbestos without training and without protective equipment can lead to inhalation of asbestos fibers, which is a known cause of lung cancer, a lung disease called "asbestosis" and mesothelioma, which is a cancer of the chest and abdominal cavities.
The case was investigated by EPA''s Criminal Investigation Division and the FBI.
by Virginia Sutcliffe