Archive for the ‘New York’ Category

New York City, New York - On Wednesday April 30, New York City lifted the stop-work order that had delayed deconstruction of a condemned skyscraper adjacent to the ground zero site of the WTC attacks. The stop-work order had been in effect for eight months, since a fire at the site had killed two firefighters.

The stop-work order on the former Deutsche Bank building was lifted after contractors spent several weeks building new systems control any future fires that might occur at the site.

The Deutsche Bank building was severely damages after the September 11, 2001 attacks: The World Trade Center’s south tower collapsed into the building, creating enormous clouds of toxic dust, including asbestos, lead, glass dust, and other toxins.

The fire that broke out at the former Deutsche Bank building on August 18, 2007 is believed to have been sparked by a discarded cigarette. The grand jury criminal investigation saw work stopped at the site.

Avi Schick, chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., the state agency that owns the building, said that now the order has been lifted a total of 300 workers can be employed at the site, “We have entered a new critical phase that will enable us to bring a hundred additional workers on to the building to finish abating it, taking us a step closer to completing this project.”

Deconstruction of the building was originally scheduled for completion in 2005, but the schedule was readjusted for a 2008 completion. After the 2007 fire, the deconstruction is now scheduled for completion in 2009.

The workers will be removing tons of toxic asbestos-containing materials from the remaining nineteen floors of the building that haven’t yet been decontaminated. Workers will be on-the-job six days a week to ensure the project is completed according to its latest deadline.

Decontamination barriers used at the site-which were made from plywood and polyethylene sheets-have been implicated in the spread of the fire.

Since February, LVI Environmental Services has been at the site restoring the barriers using more fire-resistant materials. In addition, two interior fire-rated stairwells have been constructed. Fire control measures within the decontamination chambers in the building have also been improved.

These changes should make it safer for asbestos removal workers at the site in the event that another fire occurs.

Cayuga County, New York – John Chick, the former Cayuga County carpenter who was convicted of conspiring to violate the Federal Clean Air Act, has said that he has stepped up and admitted his mistake, and that now it’s time for others involved in the illegal asbestos removal to do the same.

John Chick was sentenced to fifteen months in prison after pleading guilty to illegal asbestos removal and will begin serving his sentence on May 20. In addition to the fifteen month prison sentence, a further sentence of three years supervision following his release from prison, as well as ordering him to pay a total of $108,000 restitution, to cover the costs of cleaning up the asbestos waste.

The incident for which Chick received the sentence took place during February 2006, when he illegally displaced and removed asbestos-containing materials from the Cayuga County Board of Elections building.

However, Chick claimed he had not acted alone, but had been told to remove the asbestos by his supervisors. Chick’s defense attorney named two other people who he claimed should have shouldered some of the responsibility for the illegal asbestos removal.

One of these was former Building and Grounds Superintendent Ernie DeCaro, who had testified to knowing about the illegal asbestos removal. DeCaro claimed that he had told Cayuga County Legislator George Fearon. However, Fearon denied having any knowledge of the activities.

Earlier this week, Chick said that it was time for other people involved in the incident to admit their responsibility, including George Fearon, who Chick claims to have told about the asbestos before removing it.

Chick says he told Fearon in February 2006 before removing the asbestos that there was a “probability” that asbestos was present in the insulation surrounding the pipes. Fearon, however, claims that he had no idea asbestos had been removed from the area illegally until the June 2006 investigation of the incident.

In response, Chick claimed that Fearon had given conflicting testimony and that Fearon knew what Chick was doing about the asbestos insulation. Chick said he had showed Fearon the material and said it could contain asbestos, and that they spoke about the problem for an hour or longer.

Fearon said the conversation lasted only a few minutes, and also said he may have known asbestos was present, but had no idea that Chick had planned to remove it. Fearon said he believed the asbestos would not be touched and therefore wouldn’t be a problem.

Auburn, New York – John Chick, the Cayuga County carpenter who was sentenced to fifteen months in prison after pleading guilty to illegal asbestos removal, will begin serving his sentence this week at a minimum security prison in Allenwood, PA.

The sentence was announced on Thursday March 6, 2008. Presiding Judge Frederick Scullin Jr. gave Chick a further sentence of three years supervision following his release from prison, as well as ordering him to pay a total of $108,000 restitution.

The illegal asbestos removal took place at the Cayuga County Board of Elections building during February 2006. The incident occurred following the breakdown of the building’s boiler. During the work carried out in the building, -containing materials were displaced. Pieces of the materials were taken to the Auburn landfill.

The building was closed in August 2006 when air quality tests revealed the presence of airborne asbestos fibers. The building was closed for several weeks for asbestos abatement and removal, at a cost of $134,000.

During 2006 and 2007 around thirty county employees and members of the public filed claims against the county due to possible asbestos exposure.

In January 2007, John Chick pled guilty to one charge of conspiracy to violate the federal Clean Air Act, and agreed to cooperate with the investigation of the incident.

In court, Chick claimed he had not acted alone, but had been told to illegally remove the asbestos by supervisors. Chick’s defense attorney named two other people who, he said, should have taken some measure of responsibility for the incident.

One of these was former Building and Grounds Superintendent Ernie DeCaro, who had testified to knowing about the illegal asbestos removal. DeCaro claimed to have told Cayuga County Legislator George Fearon, who had denied any knowledge of the activities.

Fearon also claimed Chick had acted alone and out of greed, alleging that Chick removed 600 feet of copper pipe without authorization, and planned to sell the material for personal profit.

In June 2007, a federal prosecutor said that because Chick lied about the involvement of his supervisors during the early part of the investigation it was too late to connect county officials to the incident. During several interviews, Chick denied receiving orders to remove the asbestos. Chick’s defense attorney later said that Chick had lied out of a sense of loyalty to his supervisors.

During the trial, Judge Frederick Scullin Jr. said it was clear that Chick knew what he was doing, knew he was illegally removing asbestos, and knew others might be exposed. However, Scullin seemed to agree that Chick had not acted alone, saying it was clear the former carpenter was acting on the orders of others.

Chick still maintains that he was not the only County employee involved in the incident, and still says Fearon and DiCaro should also be held partially responsible.

April 7, 2008, Massena, New York - A small business-owner in Massena, New York claims that the Massena Central School District and its Board of Education have been covering up the fact that asbestos is present at the local Jefferson Elementary School, and other schools in the area.

James A. Farbotnik is so eager to get his message out to the public that he’s begun hanging banners outside his downtown Massena store, CyberWorldUSA that advertise his claims about the asbestos cover-up.

Farbotnik is particularly concerned because his children attend Jefferson Elementary, and continues to hang the banners despite repeated assurances from local officials that children at the local schools aren’t at risk.

The Massena resident has been attending Board of Education meetings for more than a year, repeatedly trying to present his arguments about illegal asbestos removal that allegedly occurred more than twelve months.

Farbotnik bases the majority of his claims about asbestos in the local schools on just one event, which occurred in January 2007. At that time, an asbestos survey carried out by Hygeia of New York found evidence of asbestos at Jefferson Elementary School.

The survey was carried out according to state Department of Labor regulations that required the school to complete an asbestos survey before beginning its planned renovation project.

A month after the survey was completed, a chunk of asbestos was found on a loading dock situated behind the school. At the same time, pipes wrapped in asbestos material were found near the loading dock. Following the asbestos discovery, the school was closed down for a week while tests were carried out to determine if an airborne asbestos risk was present.

Following that test, asbestos residue was detected in a boiler room, which was subsequently cleaned up during the 2007 Spring Break. No asbestos was located in any classrooms. Parents were informed of the matter in late April, in a letter sent out by Superintendent Douglas W. Huntley.

The school was subsequently cited by the Department of Labor for illegal asbestos removal, and former district Building and Grounds Superintendent Ben G. Gladding pled guilty to two federal charges relating to the removal of asbestos from Jefferson Elementary School and other buildings in the district.

Even so, Superintendent Huntley is adamant that the districts schools-and its children-are safe: “asbestos was removed through proper Department of Labor protocols from Jefferson Elementary. In my opinion, the school is absolutely safe and it has been safe.”

Buffalo, New York - This week, the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, opened a new $2.6 million dollar Clinical Research Center. The new research center is one of just a few in the United States that focus exclusively on clinical cancer research.

It is hoped that the new Clinical Research Center will allow for faster development of new and more effective cancer treatments. The center will also provide patients with a more extensive range of treatment options.

The center was sponsored with an anonymous donation of more than $2 million, and further funds were supplied by RPCI. The donation was so generous that the facility has enough funds to support its first two years of operation.

Donna Gioia, Chair of the Roswell Park Alliance Foundation, said, “The new Center is an outstanding example of the meaningful impact philanthropy continues to have at Roswell Park. Thanks to a donor’s investment, the Institute is positioned to become a national leader in expanding patient access to potentially life-saving treatment options.”

It includes modern treatment stations designed for shorter out-patient visits, and also includes in-patient beds. In fact, the new Clinical Research Center is unique in this respect, being the only dedicated cancer treatment and clinical trial center with in-patient facilities in America.

The intention is that both patients and their families can feel comfortable in this new facility, while patients are undergoing treatment in clinical trials being held there.

The new Clinical Research Center also features a fully-equipped conference room, a counseling room for patients and their families, and dedicated space for specimen processing and other laboratory work.

Clinical trials for many different types of cancer will be held in the research center, and it has been designed to allow patients to have easy access to information about the trials, too.

Alex A. Adjei, MD, PhD, Senior Vice President for Clinical Research, said, “Patients participating in early studies of new treatments are the pioneers of cancer research. They can benefit by being among the first to receive the best cancer treatment that science can offer…”

Donald L. Trump, MD, FACP, President and CEO of Roswell Park, said “Roswell Park is committed to developing and offering clinical research studies that promote improved quality of life, while offering hope and extended survival and ultimately cancer cure.”

More information about the Roswell Park Cancer Institute can be found at http://www.roswellpark.org/Home. The web site includes a search feature that allows interested patients to search quickly and easily for information about current and new clinical trials.

MANHATTAN, New York – The EPA has approved a decontamination plan that will allow CUNY to finally demolish Fiterman Hall, which has stood in ruins on the edge of ground zero. It is expected to berazed within a year.

Matthew Goldstein, chancellor of CUNY, said that the approval by federal regulatory officials will finally allow the important project to move forward. The 15 story building is part of the Borough of Manhattan Community College.

Fiterman Hall was originally constructed in 1959 as an office building, and was given to CUNY by Miles and Shirley Fiterman. The building was in its final stages of renovation for use as an academic building on September 11, 2001. Like most other buildings built during that era, the building contains many asbestos-containing materials. Those materials have complicated the demolition and removal plans for the hall.

The hall was severely damaged when the World Trade Center Towers collapsed that day. Falling rubble tore a hole in the building, set fires inside it and piled debris against its exterior. In 2006, a report stated that asbestos-containing materials remained in Fiterman Hall, and that there were also other contaminants present in the building that were related to the world trade center. Those contaminants include asbestos, silica, lead, PCBs, dioxin and ‘man-made vitreous fibers’ like insulation.

The dormitory authority presented its decontamination plan to the EPA, and was told on Friday that the plan was accepted. The agency concluded that the safeguards presented in the plan will help ‘prevent the occurrence of a situation that may present an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and the environment”.

Asbestos, the most notable contaminant in the building, becomes a hazard when the materials that contain it are damaged or broken, releasing asbestos fibers into the air. That sort of damage is most likely to happen during demolition or renovation of a building that contains materials made with asbestos. The collapse of the World Trade Center towers released tons of asbestos into the Manhattan air, and the continued presence of damaged buildings and debris represent a continuing health hazard to the people of New York. Asbestos causes mesothelioma, a rare cancer that affects the lining of the lungs and is invariably fatal. It has also been implicated as a substantial risk factor for lung cancer and a number of other cancers and debilitating respiratory illnesses.

Because of the hazards, the EPA requires contractors and building owners to file a demolition plan when preparing to demolish a building. The plan must address concerns about asbestos and show how the demolition will be carried out to avoid releasing asbestos fibers into the atmosphere where they can become a public health hazard.

On Friday, the EPA accepted the decontamination plan filed by the dormitory authority that has responsibility for the building. The project is expected to take four to six months for decontamination and removal of all hazardous substance, followed by another four to six months to complete the deconstruction of the building. It will cost about $16.3 million, and will be carried out by PAL Environmental Safety Corporation of Long Island City, Queens. Work has already begun on the decontamination part of the plan.

Cayuga County, New York - Former Cayuga County carpenter John Chick has been sentences to fifteen months in prison as a result of involvement in an asbestos incident. Two years ago, Chick pled guilty to charges of illegal removal of asbestos from a county building.

The former carpenter’s sentence was announced on the morning of Thursday March 6, 2008. Presiding Judge Frederick Scullin Jr. gave Chick a further sentence of three years supervision following his release from prison, as well as ordering him to pay a total of $108,000 restitution.

The illegal removal of asbestos took place at the Cayuga County Board of Elections building during February of 2006. The incident occurred following the breakdown of the building’s boiler, which was subsequently replaced. During the work carried out in the building, the removal of the furnace displaced asbestos-containing materials. Pieces of the materials were taken to the Auburn landfill.

In August of 2006 the building was closed when air quality tests revealed the presence of airborne asbestos fibers. Following this, the building was closed for several weeks for asbestos abatement and removal, at a cost of $134,000.

During 2006 and 2007 around thirty county employees and members of the public filed claimed against the county due to possible asbestos exposure. In January 2007, John Chick pled guilty to one charge of conspiracy to violate the federal Clean Air Act. Chick agreed to cooperate with the subsequent investigation of the incident.

In court, the former carpenter claimed that he had not acted alone, but had been told to illegally remove the asbestos by his supervisors. Chick’s defense attorney named two other people who, he said, should have taken some measure of responsibility for the incident.

One of these was former Building and Grounds Superintendent Ernie DeCaro, who had testified to knowing about the illegal activities. DeCaro claimed to have told Cayuga County Legislator George Fearon, who has denied any knowledge of the illegal activities.

Fearon further alleged that Chick had acted alone, and out of greed, claiming that the former county worker removed 600 feet of copper pipe without authorization, with plans to sell the material for personal profit.

In June 2007, a federal prosecutor said that because Chick had lied about the involvement of his supervisors during the early part of the investigation it was too late to connect any county officials to the illegal asbestos removal.

During a number of interviews, Chick had denied that any other individual had ordered him to remove the asbestos. Chick’s defense attorney later said that Chick had lied out of a sense of loyalty to his supervisors.

During the trial, presiding Judge Frederick Scullin Jr. said that it was clear that Chick knew what he was doing, knew he was illegally removing asbestos, and knew that it would expose other people to the substance.

However, Scullin also seemed to agree that Chick had not acted alone, saying that it was clear the former carpenter was acting on the orders of others.

John Chick does not plan to appeal his sentence, and will begin serving his prison term on April 22, 2008.

MANHATTAN, New York - The sister of a firefighter who died in the North Tower of the World Trade Center has issued an appeal to the public about mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.

Michelle Little’s brother, David M. Weiss, was a member of Rescue 1 Midtown Manhattan. He died in the North Tower of the WTC on September 11. She wrote, “I believe that if David were alive today, he would be one of the thousands of heroes who are being diagnosed with cancers and leukemia as well as respiratory diseases today. This situation is not going away. These men and women and their families need our help!”

Her call for help is a poignant one. According to reports compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and other official agencies, over 70% of the First Responders to the tragedy of 9/11 are suffering from advanced respiratory diseases, including asbestosis, lung cancer, asbestos cancer, and mesothelioma, a condition that usually takes decades to develop.

In the first hours and months after the Twin Towers fell, those people who bravely and diligently worked to rescue those trapped, and later to recover bodies and still later to clear the debris - as well as thousands of residents who work in the area - were exposed to tons of pulverized concrete, asbestos, mercury, glass and other toxic substances. In the earliest weeks, most of the workers worked without respiratory protection. Some of those early responders have already died of conditions related to asbestos, including deaths from mesothelioma.

While mesothelioma usually takes decades to develop, many health professionals believe that the sheer amount of asbestos in the air when the Towers fell and in the weeks after the attack may have amounted to a ‘super-exposure’. Tests done on a garment worn by one of the rescuers who was at the scene for the first day after the attack showed levels of asbestos fibers nearly 90,000 times the typical level of airborne asbestos in a city.

Local, state and federal government agencies have yet to admit that the health problems arising in those workers are related to the rescue work and heroism at Ground Zero. Because of this, many of the First Responders are struggling to pay for their healthcare, and often to keep food on their family table and a roof over their heads.

The evidence is building that the First Responders were exposed to devastatingly toxic levels of asbestos and other toxic substances at Ground Zero. If you or a loved one has been affected by respiratory diseases or mesothelioma after exposure to asbestos at the

World Trade Center site, there are programs and funds that may be able to help. There are study groups being done to follow up on respiratory illnesses that arose from 9/11 as well.
Discuss your situation with your medical provider, or check at local hospitals to find out about programs that may be available to assist you.

DOLGEVILLE, N.Y. - The collapsed building on the property at 102 S. Main Street contains asbestos, the Board of Trustees learned Monday night, and that means that it will probably cost more to demolish the structure.

Last month, the board passed a resolution to demolish the collapsed building so that the village can move forward with plans for the property. The resolution, which passed unanimously, awarded the contract for demolishing the building to Scanlon Construction. Included in the resolution was the removal of any asbestos that might be found on the site.

Superintendent of the Department of Public Works, Paul Nagle said Monday that the building contains asbestos. The asbestos was found between the aluminum sheets that make up the building’s walls. The asbestos will need to be removed by professionals, and the process, which is set out by the state and federal asbestos handling regulations, includes air monitoring during demolition.

Nagle said that the additional cost of air monitoring and the need to hire qualified handlers will more than likely result in a cost increase. He said that the DPW is in the process of getting estimates for the asbestos removal which is far more extensive than believed when the original bids for demolition were submitted and selected.

Mayor Bruce Lyon was surprised at the discovery, but admitted that asbestos was widely used in the time period in which the building was constructed. He pointed out that they used asbestos for everything at the time that building was constructed, from roofing shingles to floor tiles and to insulate heating ducts and water pipes. He said that they should have expected to find asbestos in the building.

The intent of the January resolution to order and pay for the demolition of the building under the public health law was to allow the village to secure ownership of the property. The current owner is listed as a now-defunct New York City based taxi company, Tulare Taxi. The village has already served notice of their intent to secure the property so that it can administer a $233,650 Department of Environmental Conservation grant. The purpose of the grant is to investigate contamination at the property. The property was once used as a gas station, service garage and bulk petroleum storage facility.

The investigation will include removing tanks and all contaminated soil. If the cleanup is achieved, the village will return the site to commercial use.

According to Village Attorney Norman Mastromoro, securing ownership of the property could easily last into the summer. It includes advertising the possible sale of the property for 12 weeks, similar to the way tax sales are conducted. All interested parties will submit bids for the property, including the village. The costs of demolition will be added to the purchase price.

“We are going to get it done,” said Nagle about the asbestos removal and demolition. “It’s just a matter of getting the estimates.”

SYRACUSE, New York - John M. Chick, the only Cayuga County employee to be charged in the illegal removal of asbestos in a 2006 case, will wait longer to find out his sentence because the presiding judge is ill.

Chick was scheduled to be sentenced today, but Judge Frederick J. Scullin, Jr. is ill. The sentencing hearing has been postponed till March 6 at 11 a.m.

Chick was charged with conspiring to violate the federal Clean Air Act when work crews following his orders removed an asbestos-laden boiler from the county’s Board of Elections building and dumped the parts in an Auburn city landfill. No safety precautions were taken, and the parts were not properly labeled or taken to an approved landfill.

Because asbestos is a hazardous substance, the federal government closely regulates its use, removal and disposal. Asbestos, once widely used in all sorts of construction, is a known carcinogen and an air pollutant. Airborne asbestos fibers can be inhaled by people in the area. Once inhaled or swallowed, asbestos fibers can remain in the body for decades and eventually may develop mesothelioma, lung cancer and other asbestos related diseases.

The EPA and other federal and state environmental agencies have strict rules about the handling of asbestos and asbestos containing materials. All asbestos must be removed before buildings can be demolished, for instance, to reduce the chances of exposing entire communities to airborne asbestos raised by the demolition. In most states, any handling of asbestos on public properties must be done by licensed professionals, with proper notice give to the local department of environmental affairs or health department.

The charges against John Chick arose from the mishandling of asbestos in 2006, when he ordered a work crew to remove a malfunctioning boiler from the Cayuga County Board of Elections building despite the fact that it was covered with asbestos containing material. The crew then dumped the parts in the Auburn city landfill. By federal regulations, those parts should have been properly bagged and transported to a landfill or facility that has the capacity to handle demolition and construction debris that includes asbestos containing materials.

While there were a number of people involved in the incident, Chick was the only one to be charged with a crime, conspiring to violate the federal Clean Air Act. He faces up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

Chick, 61, of 1 Dexter Ave., Auburn, pleaded guilty in January 2007 to conspiring to violate the federal Clean Air Act.