DEQ fines Minority Abatement Contractors $33,470 for asbestos violations in Beaverton and SW Portland
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has fined Minority Abatement Contractors, Inc.
$33,470 for asbestos violations in Beaverton and Southwest Portland.
Minority Abatement Contractors failed to enclose an asbestos abatement project work area with a negative pressure enclosure and openly accumulated asbestos at the Marta May Dance Studio at 4500 S.W. Watson Ave. in Beaverton.
The company failed to revise an asbestos abatement notification with the correct completion date for a residential abatement project at 10444 S.W. Terwilliger Place in Portland.
DEQ issued this penalty because asbestos fibers are a respiratory hazard proven to cause lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis. Asbestos is a danger to public health and a hazardous air contaminant for which there is no known safe level of exposure. To protect the public from exposure to asbestos fibers, DEQ regulations govern the proper removal, packaging and disposal of asbestos. Some of the company’s violations could have released asbestos fibers into the air and exposed workers and the public to asbestos.
Minority Abatement Contractors has until Dec. 28 to appeal the penalty.
View the enforcement letter: http://oregon.gov/deq/nr/121615penminorityL.pdf
Contact:
Susan Elworth, Environmental Law Specialist, Portland, 503-229-5152
Zeb Bates, Asbestos Program, Portland, 503-229-5364