December 26th, 2007

Two men were sentenced this week to more than a year in jail and thousands of dollars worth of fines in an asbestos case. The two men were accused of illegally removing and disposing the hazardous material.

Two Massachusetts men were sentenced to 18 months in prison after being found guilty of illegally removing and disposing of asbestos from a New York furniture store. A third man, the owner of the furniture store, was given five years probation and was fined $40,000 for contracting the two men to illegally remove the asbestos and putting the public in danger. Incarceration was dismissed for the building owner due to his age, although the man had to pay more than $2 million to properly clean up the asbestos in addition to the fine required by the court.

Mishandling and improperly removing asbestos can put the public in danger of exposure to the deadly material. Asbestos needs to be safely removed and contained in order to negate the risk of respiratory diseases and lung cancer, including mesothelioma. When asbestos is disturbed, it can break into airborne particles, which can be ingested and lead to many illnesses, including mesothelioma, which can take years or decades to manifest.