State fines asbestos firm, months after union protested demolition at shuttered GM plant

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has fined the company removing asbestos from the former General Motors plant near Newport, saying it was unsafely disposing of the cancer-causing material.

In a violation notice, Delaware's chief environmental regulator, Shawn Garvin, stated the Pennsylvania company was removing the asbestos in a way that caused "large amounts of particulates" to waft into the air.

What resulted was a visible residue of asbestos along surfaces, Garvin said in the notice, which marked the end of a department investigation.

Asbestos, a naturally occurring material, can cause lung cancer years or even decades after breathing it in.

The findings prompted DNREC to fine the asbestos company, EcoServices, LLC, and its foreman $20,000 each for violating emission standards for hazardous air pollutants.

Read more: https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2019/08/19/state-fines-gm-plant-asbestos-abatement-firm-months-after-union-protests/2028310001/