Profits over People Again?
Article Added January 10th, 2006 - Print This Story - Bookmark This Story
Recently, a federal grand jury has indicted three individuals and a large company on the charge that they had illegally attempted to remove asbestos from underground piping at a lemon grove facility. The facility, San Diego Gas & Electric, and three of its workers were charged with conspiracy to remove the asbestos contrary to environmental law. Additionally, the entities were charged with three counts of unlawful removal of the asbestos and one count of making false statements to enforcement personnel. The indictment stems from an allegation of illegal asbestos removal of 9.23 miles of underground piping at the former Encanto Gas Holder Facility in Lemon Grove. The indictment alleges that the entities violated the asbestos work practice standards enumerated in the Clean Air Act. The motive behind the illegal removal of the asbestos appears to be profit, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Melanie K. Pierson, the company was attempting to save time and money by side stepping the often expensive and time consuming process of removing asbestos in a legal manner. U.S. Attorney Carol Lam has indicated that by intentionally misleading government inspectors, the defendants had potentially endangered and jeopardized the health and safety of the community.
Counsel for the defendants have called the charges baseless and further indicated that the indictment allegations had no merit. The San Diego Gas & Electric company indicated in a statement that the company and their employees had always conducted business operations at the highest ethical levels. However, in stark contrast to this assertion, the indictment alleges that San Diego Gas & Electric knew that the coating of their underground pipes was made of a regulated asbestos containing material, known as RACM. An analysis conducted by SDG&E itself confirmed the same in 1998. In June of 2000, the company began to solicit bids from contractors to handle the removal of the underground piping. Ultimately however, in an effort to save money for the project, the indictment alleges that the company conspired to mislead governmental inspectors by telling them that the coating of the underground piping was not a federally regulated asbestos containing product.
Article Added January 10th, 2006 - Print This Story - Bookmark This Story
Looking for a California Mesothelioma Lawyer? Click Here.
- Ron Eddins, Founding Partner
View archived Asbestos and Mesothelioma articles below:
