November 16th, 2006

A number of companies have been fined after being charged with the illegal removal of asbestos in Salem. One company, Charles Wyant & Sons, was found to have removed asbestos illegally without surveying the building being worked on, and then hired another firm to remove more of the asbestos. Wyant & Sons was fined over ten thousand dollars.

The firm that was hired to remove more of the asbestos, which was Moser Roofing, was fined over $6,000 after continuing to remove the asbestos with being licensed to do so. Employees from the firm also allegedly mishandled the asbestos material, but according to reports the company plans to appeal against the penalties imposed.

According to health officials, who wrote to the contractors in question, asbestos material was left scattered around after the removal. In one of the letters an official wrote that asbestos was "left scattered about the facility roof and the parking lot. Such open accumulation ... likely caused further releases of asbestos fibers into the air, exposing workers and the public to asbestos."

Asbestos is a known carcinogenic that can lead to a range of serious health problems, including an asbestos related cancer known as mesothelioma.