$27,200 penalty issued by DEQ to Portland contractor for asbestos work at OHSU facility
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has issued a $27,200 civil penalty to In Line Commercial Construction, Inc., for conducting an asbestos abatement project without being licensed by DEQ and for failing to dispose of asbestos-containing waste material at a waste disposal site authorized by DEQ to accept it. The company was also cited, without penalty, for failing to have an accredited inspector thoroughly survey the facility for asbestos prior to performing the renovation and for openly accumulating asbestos-containing waste material.
The violations occurred in July 2016 at a renovation project in Oregon Health & Science University’s Oregon National Primate Research Center located at 505 NW 185th Ave., Beaverton OR.
DEQ considered subsequent efforts to minimize the impacts of these violations when calculating the amount of the civil penalty.
DEQ issued the penalty because the asbestos abatement project did not comply with applicable asbestos regulations, and possibly resulted in asbestos fibers being released into the air with possible exposure to the public. Asbestos fibers are known to cause lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis. There is no known safe level of exposure.
View the enforcement letter: https://www.oregon.gov/deq/nr/072817inline.pdf
Contact:
Matthew Van Sickle, Public Information Officer, DEQ, 503-229-6044 vansickle.matthew@deq.state.or.us