Press Release  AG Campbell Announces Series of Consent Judgements With Companies Across Massachusetts For Claims Of Illegal Asbestos Work

Boston — Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced a series of Consent Judgments with companies for the improper handling, disposal, and removal of asbestos-containing materials at several facilities across Massachusetts, including the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, the Worcester County Jail and House of Corrections, a redevelopment site in Lowell, and a residential development project in the Mission Hill neighborhood of the City of Boston.   

Asbestos is a mineral fiber that is used in a wide variety of building materials, from roofing and flooring, to siding and wallboard, to caulking and insulation. If asbestos is improperly handled or maintained, fibers can be released into the air and inhaled, potentially resulting in life-threatening illnesses, including asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma. 

AG Campbell has made asbestos safety a priority, as part of her office’s “Healthy Buildings, Healthy Air” Initiative, to better protect, the health of children, families, and workers in Massachusetts from health risks posed by asbestos. Since September 2016, the AG’s Office, with the assistance of MassDEP, has successfully brought asbestos enforcement cases that together have resulted in more than $7.7 million in civil penalties. 

“Asbestos is a significant threat to our residents’ health and environment, and those that fail to follow the law when it comes to the handling and disposal of it put everyone—workers, residents, and the public—at risk,” said AG Campbell. “My office will continue to hold these bad actors accountable.” 

“Asbestos regulations are in place to protect the public and can neither be ignored nor taken lightly,” said Commissioner Bonnie Heiple of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). “It is vital that companies and individuals properly identify and remove asbestos materials before beginning any renovation project. As these cases demonstrate, failure to follow the rules will result in significant penalties, as well as escalated cleanup and decontamination costs.” 

On March 1^st, the Suffolk Superior Court entered a $200,000 Consent Judgement resolving a case between the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and Holtec Pilgrim, LLC, and Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC (HDI), the companies responsible for the safe retirement of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. The consent judgment resolves allegations that the companies failed to comply with MassDEP’s asbestos regulations when removing and disposing of asbestos-contaminated paint and building materials during the demolition of certain components of the power station. The AGO also alleged that Holtec and HDI failed to survey and identify asbestos before demolition or notify MassDEP before performing the work. The Consent Judgment prohibits Holtec and HDI from using funds from the Holtec Decommissioning Trust Fund, a fund created by charges to ratepayers over the life of a nuclear power plant to finance its decommissioning, to pay the penalty. 

On February 28^th, the Suffolk Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment with Worcester County Sheriff’s Office resolving the AGO’s case that the Sheriff’s Office directed untrained employees to demolish flooring that contained asbestos at the Worcester County Jail and House of Corrections, and that the employees conducted this work without following the protective measures required by MassDEP’s asbestos regulations. The Consent Judgment requires the Sheriff’s Office to implement a comprehensive asbestos management plan, an audit to identify any other asbestos in the facility, and an employee asbestos code of conduct, and to offer confidential medical examinations to those potentially exposed. In addition, the judgment also requires the Sheriff’s Office to pay a $125,000 civil penalty if they do not comply with the terms of the judgment.

On February 15^th, the Suffolk Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment resolving the AGO’s case against Allen House at Paige, LLC (Allen House) and manager John J. DeAngelis.  The judgment resolves claims related to the mishandling and improper disposal of asbestos-containing material that risked exposing workers and the public in a densely populated, historically underserved neighborhood to asbestos. The AGO’s complaint alleges that, in the process of overseeing the demolition and renovation of a Lowell residential rooming house, Allen House and DeAngelis directed and supervised contractors, who were not licensed for asbestos removal, to conduct the illegal work. The Consent Judgment requires the defendants to pay up to $150,000 in civil penalties and to notify potentially impacted workers of their possible asbestos exposure and attend an asbestos training course. 

On February 5^th, the Suffolk Superior Court entered Consent Judgements resolving the AGO’s case against four companies involved in a mixed-use redevelopment project in the Mission Hill neighborhood of the City of Boston. The AGO alleges that P25 Phase 2 LLC, Mission Hill Parcel 25 LLC, NEI General Contracting, Inc., and D&M Civil, Inc. failed to properly survey for asbestos before starting excavation on the project and that they mishandled asbestos-containing materials. According to the AGO’s complaint, the companies left dry, uncovered piles of asbestos-containing waste material alongside public sidewalks near affordable housing units and the Roxbury Crossing transit station. In these Consent Judgments, the companies agreed to pay a total of up to $325,000 in civil penalties, to undertake extensive training, monitoring, and notification requirements, and to fund a $25,000 supplemental environment project by the Whittier Street Health Center in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston addressing asthma prevention and treatment.   

As part of her commitment to creating safe and healthy communities, AG Campbell recently announced a “Health at Home” website to empower residents living with environmental health hazards like asbestos. For more information on asbestos and asbestos-related work, visit MassDEP’s website outlining asbestos construction and demolition notification requirements. For more information about asbestos-related worker safety and school safety requirements, visit the Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards' website for its asbestos safety program. 

These matters were handled by Assistant Attorneys General Tracy Triplett, Julia Jonas-Day, and John S. Craig of the Attorney General’s Environmental Protection Division and Grace Gohlke of the Attorney General’s Constitutional and Administrative Law Division, with the assistance of Colleen McConnell, Grady Dante, John Macauley, Andrew Danikas, Daniel d’Hedouville, Colleen Ferguson, Seth Pickering, Gregg Levins, Christa Cronk, and Anne Blackman from MassDEP.  

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