Plumbing and heating company owner accused of asbestos violations

There are certain dustries in which workers should be well-versed in how to safely handle and dispose of asbestos. These employees are generally in construction, plumbing or transportation industries and often work with materials that were made using asbestos. Therefore, they should know how dangerous it is. This can be especially true when it comes to contracting companies tasked with removing asbestos from a building.

When asbestos is not properly removed and disposed of, it continues to be a serious threat to the people who remain the vicinity of the asbestos and can end up breathing it in without realizing it. Despite understanding these risks, many negligent employers and contractors try to get away with improper and unsafe asbestos handling practices. If and when this happens, these reckless parties can be held accountable for their actions.

Recently, for example, a 27-year-old man was accused of knowingly disposing of asbestos materials in an unsafe manner and is now being charged with multiple violations in court. The young man is the owner of a heating and plumbing company, which is one of the industries known to frequently come into contact with asbestos because it was so widely used in heating systems and plumbing for decades.

The man is accused of removing an old heater from a home without alerting the authorities of the asbestos and simply leaving the toxic materials in the crawl space of the building inside the home where work was being completed. Because of this negligence in how the young man removed the asbestos, he put his workers and the people living inside the home at risk of being exposed to the dangerous materials.

The true extent of the damage that may have been done as a result of negligent disposal practices may not be realized for decades, when victims typically start showing symptoms of asbestos-related diseases. If residents in the home or workers at the contracting company ultimately develop mesothelioma or similar illnesses, they may likely refer back to these violations as links to their exposure.

Source: Telegram & Gazette, “Worcester contractor accused of dumping asbestos in customer’s basement,” Gary V. Murray, Oct. 29, 2013