February 27th, 2007

A property management company has been accused of exposing tenants to asbestos by a Spokane County agency, which is now planning to take action against the property management company as a result of the alleged exposure. Asbestos is a substance that was once widely used and can result in many health problems, including mesothelioma, which is a cancer that stems from exposure to airborne asbestos dust and fibers.

Zanco Properties has had a number of complaints made against it, which have been investigated over the past few weeks. Tenants have made complaints over the living conditions that they have been exposed to, stating that they have suffered all sorts of contamination including mold and pests.

Action is being taken against Zanco by the Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority as a result of the way that the company is going about making repairs. According to the Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority no checks for asbestos presence have been carried out when carrying out repairs such as holes in ceilings of properties.

A notice was sent to the owner of the property management company who then hired an asbestos contractor to test the ceiling of a resident that had had repairs carried out on the ceiling. According to the results there was asbestos present in the ceiling.