Archive for the ‘Ohio’ Category

Several months after proposing the initial fine, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has finally reached an agreement with the city of East Liverpool. The city strenuously opposed the EPA’s fine, claiming it had already paid for an improper asbestos handling incident.

The incident that sparked the fine came to light in May 2006, and involved Street Department Supervisor Earl Taylor, who hired a contractor to remove asbestos-containing pipe insulation from a city-owned building.

Around 500 linear feet of pipe insulation was removed from the building, which Taylor then buried at a clean landfill site on property that the city also owned. Several days later, then-Service Safety Director William Cowan notified the Ohio EPA about the asbestos removal and disposal due to safety concerns.

The removal and disposal of the asbestos turned out to be illegal. The asbestos removal was carried out with the knowledge or consent of the Ohio EPA, and the agency also says the removal did not adhere to necessary safety standards. In addition the asbestos that was removed was disposed of at a landfill site that was not equipped to safely handle asbestos waste.

Asbestos removal must be carried out carefully to prevent the spread of asbestos dust, which can cause asbestos-related cancers and other serious diseases if inhaled. Typical asbestos removal includes wet-removal procedures to dampen materials and prevent dust dispersing.

Disposing of asbestos safely is another important issue, as asbestos at landfill sites can present a health hazard to anyone working or visiting the site. Asbestos can only be disposed of at waste sites that are equipped to handle hazardous materials.

Several days after the incident was discovered, workers from Cardinal Environmental Services cleaned up the remaining asbestos at the removal site, and cleaned up the landfill.

The EPA subsequently proposed a fine of $30,000, which was vigorously opposed by the town. Officials said the fine should not have been so large, as the town had already cleaned up the asbestos, Taylor himself had been fined, and the town had voluntarily notified the EPA of the problems and made no efforts to cover up the asbestos mishandling incident.

Now, the city has formally agreed to pay a fine of $5,000, after meeting with the EPA several times to ask for a reduction. Around $4,000 of the money will go to the Ohio EPA, while the remaining $1,000 will be contributed to the agency’s Clean Diesel School Bus Program Fund.

Last week, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency announced that Wilmington-based company RLR Investments, LLC would pay a large fine for violating state environmental asbestos standards.

RLR Investments, LLC paid a penalty of $227,700 for violation of Ohio’s asbestos emission control standards. The violations occurred in downtown Dayton at a property known as the Urban Resort, according to the Ohio EPA. The case involves the largest civil penalty ever collected by Ohio State for asbestos-related violations.

Ohio EPA Director Chris Korleski said in relation to the incident, “The asbestos regulations are intended to protect public health, which is why we take violations very seriously. We urge anyone involved in building demolition or renovation to understand the asbestos requirements and follow them to the letter.”

This week, however, RLR Investments issued a statement via its Associate General Counsel, Daniel J. Brake, refuting the claims made by the EPA.

“The claims of the Ohio EPA in the news release are false, and are contrary to the clear terms of the Consent Order filed with the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas.

RLR believes that the claims brought by the Ohio EPA were without merit, and RLR only agreed to settle the case for the stated amount to avoid the significant cost of litigation with the State of Ohio.”

“It is important to note that neither RAPCA (Regional Air Pollution Control Agency) nor the Ohio EPA issued a single citation to RLR Investments during the renovation of the Urban Resort. RLR retained one of the premiere asbestos remediation contractors in the state of Ohio to handle all remediation activities at the location. At no time was a notice of violation or citation issued to the remediation contractor.”

According to the RLR statement, the statements made by the Ohio EPA are “false under the clear terms of the Court’s Consent Order and Final Judgment Entry…and directly contrary to the state’s express acknowledgment…that “the Court has made no finding or determination of any wrongdoing or civil liability on the part of Defendant and Defendant denies any violations at the Urban Resort property…”

In short, RLR Investments claims that it settled with the EPA to avoid paying litigation fees, and that therefore the EPA has no right to state that RLR was guilty of any asbestos-related wrong-doing.

The company’s statement closes with a warning: “RLR Investments took on the Urban Resort project as a good-will gesture to the city of Dayton…with the aggressive tactics of the Ohio EPA, investors like RLR are not likely to take on any such good-will project anytime soon.”

The city of Lorain in Ohio is about to receive a grant of almost $3 million. The grant is intended to reimburse the city for the costs of environmental remediation at the old Ford Plant located in the city.

City officials say that the Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund grant of $2,996,165 will reimburse the city for the cost of removing asbestos and PCB-containing materials from one section of the site.

Asbestos and PCBs are both common contaminants of industrial sites due to their many different uses in industry. Asbestos was once commonly used in all manner of construction materials, due to the fire resistance, durability, and strength it provided to the materials it was added to.

PCBs were once commonly used as insulating and cooling fluids in transistors, capacitors, and transformers, and had many other industrial uses.

However, both substances are carcinogenic, and exposure to either substance can cause other serious diseases as well as certain types of cancer.

Contaminated sites such as the Ford Plant in Lorain must be cleaned of dangerous substances such as asbestos and PCBs before they can be put to other purposes, however the process is often long, difficult, and costly.

The city has decided to take bids for the clean up work, which is expected to cost around $3 million. Don Romancak, chief planner of the City Community Development Department says the city plans to pay contractors to complete the work, and then receive reimbursement from the state between 60 and 90 days after the completion date.

“Any money we’re putting into this project for Clean Ohio, we are being reimbursed from the state of Ohio,” Romancak said.
According to Don Romancak, paying for the work in this way means the city can better control the costs of the project.
Romancak also says that the California-based Industrial Realty Group will contribute around $8 million to the costs of clean up, demolition, and other costs associated with the remediation project.

Industrial Realty Group purchased the former Ford Assembly Plant in 2006 and lease space in the complex to several other companies.

City officials in East Liverpool, Ohio, are still trying to negotiate to avoid paying the $30,000 fine the EPA wants to collect for asbestos violations.

East Liverpool City Council Members met recently to discuss the fine, and Law Director Charles Payne says the city still plans to challenge it.

Payne said, “Their demand of $30,000 is still the issue here. During our last meeting with the EPA, the city made a counter offer of $2,000 for a fine, and we basically tied that into the fine for Earl Taylor during the initial court case.”

The incident that sparked the fine came to light in May 2006, says East Liverpool Mayor Jim Swoger. The incident involved Street Department Supervisor Earl Taylor, who hired a contractor to remove asbestos-containing pipe insulation from a city-owned building.

Around 500 linear feet of pipe insulation was removed from the building, which Taylor then buried at a clean landfill site on property that the city also owned. Several days later, then-Service Safety Director William Cowan notified the Ohio EPA about the asbestos removal and disposal due to safety concerns.

The removal and disposal of the asbestos turned out to be illegal. The asbestos removal was carried out with the knowledge or consent of the Ohio EPA. The agency also says the removal did not adhere to the necessary safety standards. In addition the asbestos that was removed was disposed of at a landfill site that was not equipped to safely handle asbestos waste.

Asbestos removal must be carried out carefully to prevent the spread of asbestos dust, which can cause cancer and other serious diseases if inhaled. Typical asbestos removal includes wet-removal procedures to dampen materials and prevent dust dispersing.

Disposing of asbestos safely is another important issue, as asbestos at landfill sites can present a health hazard to anyone working or visiting the site. Asbestos can only be disposed of at waste sites that are equipped to handle hazardous materials.

Several days after the incident was discovered, workers from Cardinal Environmental Services cleaned up the remaining asbestos at the removal site, and cleaned up the landfill.

Swoger doesn’t understand why the EPA has imposed the fine, because the asbestos has been cleaned up, and Earl Taylor had already been fined. In addition, says Swoger, city officials notified the EPA of the incident and didn’t try to cover it up.

“When it came to light, the city notified the Ohio EPA and spent $14,500 to remediate the problem,” said Law Director Charles Payne of the incident. The EPA has already rejected the city’s counter-proposal of the $2,000 fine payment.

East Liverpool, Ohio – A meeting between East Liverpool officials and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has been scheduled for May 28, for discussion of the proposed $30,000 fine the agency plans to impose on the city.

The incident which prompted the fine came to light in May 2005, says Jim Swoger, Mayor of East Liverpool. The incident involved Street Department Supervisor Earl Taylor, who hired a contractor to remove asbestos-containing pipe insulation from a city-owned building.

Around 500 linear feet of pipe insulation was removed and buried by Earl Taylor at a clean landfill site on city-owned property. Several days later William Cowan, then-Service Safety Director, notified the Ohio EPA about the asbestos removal and disposal and expressed concerns about the safety of the procedure.

Asbestos removal must be carried out carefully to prevent exposure, which can cause cancer and other serious diseases. Safe and legal removal of asbestos includes wet-removal procedures to prevent dust dispersal.

Disposing of asbestos safely is another important issue, as asbestos at landfill sites can present a health hazard to anyone working or visiting the site. Asbestos can only be disposed of at waste sites that are equipped to handle hazardous materials.

As it turned out, the removal and disposal of the asbestos was illegal. The asbestos removal was carried out with the knowledge or consent of the Ohio EPA. The agency also says the removal did not adhere to the safety standards required to limit the production and spread of asbestos dust. In addition the asbestos was disposed of at a site that was not licensed to receive asbestos waste.

Soon after the problems were discovered, several workers from Cardinal Environmental Services cleaned up the remaining asbestos at the removal site and at the landfill, at a cost of around $15,000.

Subsequently the Ohio EPA notified city officials of its intentions to impose a fine, and gave the city 14 days in which to respond with payment or a negotiation request. East Liverpool will negotiate the fine at the May 28 meeting which has now been scheduled.

Swoger says he doesn’t understand why the EPA has imposed the fine, because city officials didn’t try to hide the incident, the asbestos has been cleaned up, and Earl Taylor himself had already been fined $2,000.

The EPA’s proposed fine of $30,000 will be split, with $24,000 going to the EPA and $6,000 to the Ohio EPA’s Clean Diesel School Bus fund. The fund helps cover the cost of retrofitting school buses with equipment to reduce diesel emissions.

When the Southwyck Shopping Mall in Toledo, Ohio, was surveyed on May 2, asbestos and toxic mold were found in the building. As a result the city had threatened to close the building down, giving owners of the mall just 72 hours to clean it up. However, third-party testing carried out on Friday May 9 failed to confirm the presence of asbestos and toxic mold.

During the May 2 inspection, black mold was found on ceilings in the main concourse of the mall. Asbestos was discovered in a store that is currently vacant but City Building Inspection Commissioner Chris Zervos said that maintenance personnel who entered the vacant area could have inadvertently allowed asbestos to escape the contaminated area.

Mall representatives released a statement about the problems, saying they were “surprised by the City of Toledo’s allegations that any unsafe conditions exist in the Mall since the City has conducted regular inspections for the past several years…and until today we had never been notified of anything of this nature.”

The statement also said that the Southwyck Mall and its representatives have taken the city’s allegations seriously and “even though we believe no safety problem exists we have engaged an independent third party inspector to evaluate the situation.”

That third-party inspector, from Watterson Environmental Group of Sylvania, found no visible evidence of airborne asbestos or mold growth in the Southwyck buildings, according to Kenneth C. Baker, a mall management attorney.

Baker said that the Watterson report found “no visible evidence of suspect mold growth on the interior, exposed surfaces of the skylights of the mall,” and “no obvious visible evidence that any airborne asbestos debris is being tracked into the mall.”

However, the mall isn’t yet free to remain open. Carty Finkbeiner, Mayor of Toledo, said that the building would have to undergo yet another inspection. Last week, the mayor said, “I hope it does not come to the point where we have to shut down the mall. If it does come to that, the city of Toledo department of development will work with current tenants to assist them in their relocation efforts.”

Baker also said that the mall owners had not received “the results of any analytical tests by the city or anyone else which would lead us to conclude that any asbestos dust has escaped from the sealed-off.”

In addition, says Baker, mall management “fully expects that all of the issues which may have caused the city to issue its closure notice will have been addressed to the city’s satisfaction by the opening of business on Monday.”

Lisbon, Ohio – South of Lisbon, Ohio, the A&L Salvage Landfill is a sight for sore eyes—and noses. Apart from the dust and the smell, however, residents are concerned more about the possibility of asbestos exposure. After allegations made by locals of improper asbestos handling, the Environmental Protection Agency may even step in and take action.

Local resident John Richmond says he shot four videos of day-to-day operations at the A&L Landfill, and claims that his videos show employees handling bags of asbestos in an unsafe manner.

The videos show, says Richmond, that harmful asbestos dust is being released into the air. “I’m not anti-landfill; the stuff has to go somewhere. Everybody makes the stuff that goes into these places, but there’s a right way and a wrong way to do this, and this is constantly done the wrong way.

Residents who live near the landfill say they’ve been concerned about water contamination and dust clouds at the site for a long time.

Karen Ray, a local who lives close to the site, says, “The chemicals and things like that are going into the water we’re drinking. I have three children and that’s just something you have to think about. Not only from now but what’s going to happen to them with their health in the future.”

John Richmond believes it’s time the Ohio EPA forces the A&L Landfill comply with state codes, or shut the operation down. Richmond turned his video footage over to the EPA, and the agency has since asked the state Attorney General to deny the A&L Landfill—which allegedly has as many as 23 previous violations—a continuing operating license.

The A&L Landfill Director of Operations, Stephen Callahan, has attempted to reassure neighbors that everything possible is being done to minimize risk at the site.

“I think that we can give them some level of comfort that they’re not being exposed to anything dangerous,” Callahan says. “We understand it’s a landfill and that’s not the preferred neighbor to have, but I think if they could continue to educate themselves on what we do, that they will have much less concern on what goes on at the site.”

Stephen Callahan has encouraged locals to visit the facility if they have any questions. For now, though, talks between the A&L Landfill and the Ohio EPA continue, and nothing has yet been decided.

Toledo, Ohio – Southwyck Shopping Center, the Toledo, Ohio mall with asbestos and toxic mold issues released a statement following the news that the center would be closed after the weekend if its health and safety issues weren’t resolved at that time.

City Building Inspection Commissioner Chris Zervos said that the present condition of the mall is a health hazard for employees and the public, and that management has just 72 hours to clean up the mold and contain the asbestos so that the public is not at risk of exposure. If the problems aren’t fixed by Monday, says the city’s statement, the mall will be closed down.

Inspections of the Southwyck Shopping Mall were carried out on Friday May 2, and the asbestos and mold problems were discovered at that time.

Black mold was found on ceilings in the main concourse of the mall. Asbestos was discovered in a store that is currently vacant but Zervos said that maintenance personnel who entered the vacant area could have inadvertently allowed asbestos to escape the contaminated area.

Carty Finkbeiner, Mayor of Toledo, said “I hope it does not come to the point where we have to shut down the mall. If it does come to that, the city of Toledo department of development will work with current tenants to assist them in their relocation efforts.”

Mall representatives today released a statement about the problems, saying they were “surprised by the City of Toledo’s allegations that any unsafe conditions exist in the Mall since the City has conducted regular inspections for the past several years…and until today we had never been notified of anything of this nature.”

In addition, the statement says that the asbestos is located in a building that is currently vacant and has been vacant for eight years.

“Access from the building to the mall has been sealed off for some time. Mall employees rarely enter the building. Additionally, the building has its own self-contained air handling system and if any ambient air problems were to exist in the building these should not be transmitted into the Mall.”

The statement also says that the Southwyck Mall and its representatives have taken the city’s allegations seriously and “even though we believe no safety problem exists we have engaged an independent third party inspector to evaluate the situation.”

The inspection of the Southwyck Shopping Center is scheduled for the morning of Friday May 9.

Toledo, Ohio – The Southwyck Shopping Mall in Toledo, Ohio, might end up being closed down after the weekend if its owners don’t clean up the asbestos and toxic mold that was found there.

According to a statement from the city of Toledo, Southwyck Mall management will receive 72-hour orders for cleaning up the site.

City Building Inspection Commissioner Chris Zervos said that the present condition of the mall is a health hazard for employees and the public, and that management has just 72 hours to clean up the mold and contain the asbestos so that the public is not at risk of exposure. If the problems aren’t fixed by Monday, says the city’s statement, the mall will be closed down.

Inspections of the Southwyck Shopping Mall were carried out on Friday May 2.

Black mold was found on ceilings in the main concourse of the mall. Asbestos was discovered in a store that is currently vacant but Zervos said that maintenance personnel who entered the vacant area could have inadvertently allowed asbestos to escape the contaminated area.

Carty Finkbeiner, Mayor of Toledo, said “I hope it does not come to the point where we have to shut down the mall. If it does come to that, the city of Toledo department of development will work with current tenants to assist them in their relocation efforts.”

In addition, said Finkbeiner, “We don’t want to inconvenience these business owners or their employees. But we have a responsibility to protect their health and the health of the general public.”

The mall is currently somewhat empty, with just six stores present. Developer Larry Dillin is attempting to buy the site.

However, a buyer might get more than they bargain for. Asbestos in one location means it’s likely to be present in many other places in Southwyck Shopping mall.

Asbestos was so widely used in construction between the 1940s and 1980s that it might be present in many different materials used to build the mall.

Abatement or removal of asbestos can be particularly costly due to the necessary precautionary measures needed when handling and working with the substance. Many states require professionally trained asbestos workers to carry out abatement, and have strict regulations that control how asbestos is removed and disposed of.

Disposal of asbestos waste, for example, is around three times more expensive than disposal of non-hazardous waste. Failure to comply with a state’s asbestos laws can bring costly penalties.

East Liverpool, Ohio - City officials in East Liverpool, Ohio are planning to ask the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to meet for a discussion and negotiation of a proposed $30,000 fine the EPA imposed for violation of asbestos regulations.

The incident that sparked the fine came to light in May 2006, says East Liverpool Mayor Jim Swoger. The incident involved Street Department Supervisor Earl Taylor, who hired a contractor to remove asbestos-containing pipe insulation from a city-owned building.

Around 500 linear feet of pipe insulation was removed from the building, which Taylor then buried at a clean landfill site on property that the city also owned. Several days later, then-Service Safety Director William Cowan notified the Ohio EPA about the asbestos removal and disposal due to safety concerns.

Unfortunately for the city, both the removal and the disposal of the asbestos turned out to be illegal. The asbestos removal was carried out with the knowledge or consent of the Ohio EPA.

The agency also says the removal did not adhere to the necessary safety standards. In addition the asbestos that was removed was disposed of at a landfill site that was not equipped to safely handle asbestos waste.

Asbestos removal must be carried out carefully to prevent the spread of asbestos dust, which can cause asbestos cancer and other serious diseases if inhaled. Typical asbestos removal includes wet-removal procedures to dampen materials and prevent dust dispersing.

Disposing of asbestos safely is another important issue, as asbestos at landfill sites can present a health hazard to anyone working or visiting the site. Asbestos can only be disposed of at waste sites that are equipped to handle hazardous materials.

Several after the incident was discovered, workers from Cardinal Environmental Services cleaned up the remaining asbestos at the removal site, and cleaned up the landfill.

Swoger says he doesn’t understand why the EPA has imposed the fine, because the asbestos has been cleaned up, and Earl Taylor himself had already been fined over the incident. In addition, says Swoger, city officials notified the EPA of the incident and didn’t try to cover it up.

The EPA’s proposed fine of $30,000 will be split. A proposed $24,000 will go to the EPA and $6,000 to the Ohio EPA’s Clean Diesel School Bus fund. The fund helps cover the cost of retrofitting school buses with equipment to reduce diesel emissions.