A Waltham-based construction contractor, Devens-based plumbing contractor, and Woburn-based demolition company will pay up to $325,000 in civil penalties to settle allegations of illegal asbestos work during a renovation project at Fitchburg State University (FSU) in the spring and summer of 2018,
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said that the settlement also requires the companies to train their employees on how to properly work with asbestos and to implement better recordkeeping.
The consent judgments entered in Suffolk Superior Court settle allegations that the general contractor, Commodore Builders Corp., the demolition contractor, K.O. Stone, Inc., and the plumbing contractor, N.B. Kenney Co., Inc., violated the state’s clean air law and asbestos regulations by “repeatedly and illegally failing to properly remove and dispose of asbestos, or asbestos-containing-material” in an FSU dormitory that was unoccupied by students but housed an open and operational student health services center.
The AG’s office alleges that the defendants’ actions threatened the health and safety of their workers, nearby residents, FSU employees working in the dormitory and student health center, and the surrounding neighborhood.
The AG specifically alleges that during a renovation and demolition project the three contractors conducted a portion of the project’s asbestos abatement work without proper training or licensing before the asbestos abatement contractor for the project arrived on site. As a result, the abatement contractor was unable to properly contain and abate the asbestos and the Department of Environmental Protection was not able to inspect the asbestos abatement work that had occurred.
“General contractors, demolition contractors and plumbing companies must be very familiar with the need to use licensed asbestos contractors to ensure that asbestos-containing materials are handled in accordance with the regulations,” said Mary Jude Pigsley, director of MassDEP’s office in Worcester.
Under the terms of the AG’s settlement with Commodore, the company is required to pay a $175,000 civil penalty, of which $25,000 will be suspended pending its compliance with the consent judgment.
The AG’s settlement with KO Stone requires the company to pay a $100,000 civil penalty, $20,000 of which will be suspended pending its compliance with the consent judgment. The company cannot engage in any asbestos abatement work for two years.
The settlement with N.B Kenney requires the company to pay a $50,000 civil penalty, $20,000 if which is suspended pending compliance with the consent judgment.
Topics Education Massachusetts Universities
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