DEQ issues two fines for asbestos violations

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has issued two fines for asbestos violations in the area.

Richard H. Ramsey was fined $13,933 for allowing an unlicensed person to perform an asbestos abatement project at a home he owns in Lebanon.

Ramsey also was cited for openly accumulating asbestos-containing waste, which must be sealed in approved packaging and disposed of at a proper waste facility.

Ramsey hired contractor John Powell to demolish the house, at 410 Walker Road, last summer.

A DEQ inspector visited the property in May based on a complaint that Powell had left asbestos-containing vinyl floor tile and sheet vinyl flooring on the concrete foundation pad.

Portions of the flooring were crushed, broken and in friable condition and may have exposed workers, neighbors and the public to asbestos.

In a separate case, Tigard company AAM Inc., a licensed asbestos abatement contractor, was fined $1,800 for failing to provide DEQ with a required air clearance report within 30 days of completing a project at 13075 Parrett Mountain Road in Newberg.

The report details the testing performed after the project to ensure the air is cleared of asbestos fibers.

Asbestos fibers are a respiratory hazard proven to cause lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis. There is no known safe level of exposure.

tloew@statesmanjournal.com, (503) 399-6779 or follow at Twitter.com/SJWatchdog