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SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- A state agency has fined the Oregon State Hospital $10,200 for two asbestos violations during a water line project.
The state Department of Environmental Quality also fined the contractor $3,600 for doing asbestos abatement work without a license, a decision the company said it would appeal.
The DEQ said the state psychiatric hospital hired Emery & Sons Construction to install a water line, and in January workers dug into an old asbestos-insulated pipeline. The asbestos was reportedly left in a pile of dirt and debris.
Officials at the psychiatric hospital should have known about the hazardous material because a 1990 survey documented asbestos sites on the 144-acre hospital campus, said Jane Hickman, the DEQ administrator of compliance and enforcement.
State hospital officials have said the asbestos was about 200 feet from the nearest residential area.
Bill Martinak, the vice president of Emery & Sons, said the company will appeal.
"Our contract was to install a water line. There's no mention of asbestos in the contract that we had with the state," he said. "We weren't notified by them that there was asbestos in the area. We want to have a hearing so that we can present our side of the story."
Inhaled asbestos fibers can lodge in lung tissue, increasing the risk of lung diseases, including cancer. Hickman said whether anyone inhaled the fibers is unknown, and it can take 20 years for asbestos-related diseases to show up.
The DEQ fined the hospital for allowing asbestos to accumulate in the open and for allowing the company to perform asbestos-related work without a license.
"Fortunately, it was raining at the time, so it saturated the asbestos," said Jim Sellers, spokesman for the Department of Human Services, which oversees the hospital.
Sellers said the department hadn't decided yet whether it would appeal the fine, but he said it would examine the 1990 survey and "find whatever lessons we can in the experience."
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Information from: Statesman Journal, http://www.statesmanjournal.com
The state Department of Environmental Quality also fined the contractor $3,600 for doing asbestos abatement work without a license, a decision the company said it would appeal.
The DEQ said the state psychiatric hospital hired Emery & Sons Construction to install a water line, and in January workers dug into an old asbestos-insulated pipeline. The asbestos was reportedly left in a pile of dirt and debris.
Officials at the psychiatric hospital should have known about the hazardous material because a 1990 survey documented asbestos sites on the 144-acre hospital campus, said Jane Hickman, the DEQ administrator of compliance and enforcement.
State hospital officials have said the asbestos was about 200 feet from the nearest residential area.
Bill Martinak, the vice president of Emery & Sons, said the company will appeal.
"Our contract was to install a water line. There's no mention of asbestos in the contract that we had with the state," he said. "We weren't notified by them that there was asbestos in the area. We want to have a hearing so that we can present our side of the story."
Inhaled asbestos fibers can lodge in lung tissue, increasing the risk of lung diseases, including cancer. Hickman said whether anyone inhaled the fibers is unknown, and it can take 20 years for asbestos-related diseases to show up.
The DEQ fined the hospital for allowing asbestos to accumulate in the open and for allowing the company to perform asbestos-related work without a license.
"Fortunately, it was raining at the time, so it saturated the asbestos," said Jim Sellers, spokesman for the Department of Human Services, which oversees the hospital.
Sellers said the department hadn't decided yet whether it would appeal the fine, but he said it would examine the 1990 survey and "find whatever lessons we can in the experience."
------
Information from: Statesman Journal, http://www.statesmanjournal.com
