Asbestos Air Monitor Conspired With Asbestos Removal Companies to Falsify Lab Results, Hiding Incomplete Asbestos Removal in Homes, Schools and Other Buildings
WASHINGTON – A federal jury in Utica, N.Y. has found Certified Environmental Services Inc. (CES); two of its managers, Nicole Copeland and Elisa Dunn; and one of its employees, Sandy Allen, guilty of conspiring to aid and abet Clean Air Act violations, commit mail fraud, and defraud the United States, the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today. The defendants were also convicted of substantive Clean Air Act violations and mail fraud counts. CES and Elisa Dunn were also convicted of making false statements to federal law enforcement.
Due to the false lab reports, people that lived or worked in these buildings were exposed to asbestos, putting them at risk of developing cancer or other asbestos-related diseases.
As alleged in the indictment, CES (an asbestos air monitoring company and accredited laboratory), and several of its senior employees, together with Aapex Environmental and Paragon Environmental (asbestos removal companies, having already pled guilty) conspired over the course of nearly a decade to falsify lab results used to prove that asbestos removal was done properly.
In numerous instances, asbestos removal companies represented that homes, schools and other buildings were free of asbestos contamination when asbestos debris remained behind.
Owners of local homes and buildings were unaware that asbestos had been left behind from sloppy abatement work because air quality reports were falsified by CES and its supervisors and employees. Due to the false lab reports, people that lived or worked in these buildings were exposed to asbestos, putting them at risk of developing cancer or other asbestos-related diseases. EPA investigators have notified affected building owners of the asbestos problem so proper clean up can be conducted.
See the rest of the story at: www.justice.gov; Photo Source
Dispatched from Bill Robinson and Train2Rebuild.
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