New York Contractors Face Charges for Alleged Illegal Dumping of Asbestos
Thursday, May 6th, 2010Two Buffalo, New York area contractors face charges for the alleged illegal dumping of more than five tons of asbestos-contaminated debris inside an abandoned warehouse in the city of Buffalo, New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced Wednesday.
Robert L. Bishop, owner of Peerless Environmental Control, Inc., an asbestos abatement company, and Salvatore P. Capizzi, a self-employed demolition contractor, are charged with endangering public health, safety or the environment, a felony, and criminal mischief in the second degree, according to a press release issued by the attorney general’s office. They face a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.
“People who try to cut corners by illegally dumping harmful materials like asbestos endanger the public and hurt the environment,” Attorney General Cuomo said in a statement. “My office has no tolerance for polluters who fail to comply with the state’s stringent hazardous waste disposal laws.”
Asbestos poses a serious human health hazard. Inhaling asbestos fibers is linked to development of mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung and abdomen, asbestosis, a scarring of the lung, and other serious respiratory ailments.
According to the press release, Bishop, while operating as an asbestos abatement contractor for various New York construction projects, allegedly collected thousands of pounds of asbestos-contaminated waste in containers at a warehouse in Buffalo. When asbestos regulators with the New York State Department of Labor wanted to inspect Bishop’s warehouse, he allegedly paid workers to haul the waste to a different building, where it remained hidden for more than a year until its discovery by state asbestos regulators.
The asbestos waste was cleaned up by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at a cost of more than $137,000.
“In this case, the alleged reckless and dangerous acts of two individuals put public health and the environment at risk,” State Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis said in a statement.
