Press Release  Construction and Demolition Companies Reach Settlement With AG’s Office for Illegal Asbestos Work at Fitchburg State University

BOSTON — A Waltham-based construction contractor, Devens-based plumbing contractor, and Woburn-based demolition company will pay up to $325,000 in civil penalties to settle claims of illegal asbestos work during a renovation project at Fitchburg State University (FSU) in the spring and summer of 2018, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced today. The settlement also requires the companies to train their employees on how to properly work with asbestos and to implement better recordkeeping.   

The consent judgments, filed and entered in Suffolk Superior Court, settle allegations that the general contractor, Commodore Builders Corp. (Commodore), the demolition contractor, K.O. Stone, Inc. (K.O. Stone), and the plumbing contractor, N.B. Kenney Co., Inc. (N.B. Kenney) violated the state’s clean air law and asbestos regulations by repeatedly and illegally failing to properly remove and dispose of asbestos, or asbestos-containing-material (ACM) in an FSU dormitory that was unoccupied by students but housed an open and operational student health services center. The AG’s Office alleges that the defendants’ actions threatened the health and safety of their workers, nearby residents, FSU employees working in the dormitory and student health center, and the surrounding neighborhood, which is already overburdened with environmental harm.  

"The careless and illegal actions of these companies put the health and safety of their workers, Fitchburg State University employees. and nearby residents at risk,” said AG Campbell. “As part of our ongoing work to build healthier communities, this office will continue to hold companies accountable for workplace and environmental law violations.”  

The AG’s Office specifically alleges that during a renovation and demolition project at the FSU dormitory building, Commodore, K.O. Stone, and N.B. Kenney conducted a portion of the project’s asbestos abatement work without proper training or licensing before the asbestos abatement contractor for the project arrived on site. As a result, the abatement contractor was unable to properly contain and abate the asbestos in accordance with the schedule submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), and MassDEP was not able to inspect the asbestos abatement work that had occurred.  

“General contractors, demolition contractors and plumbing companies must be very familiar with the need to use licensed asbestos contractors to ensure that asbestos-containing materials are handled in accordance with the regulations,” said Mary Jude Pigsley, director of MassDEP’s Central Regional Office in Worcester. “As reflected in the settlement agreement, failure to follow these requirements will result in significant penalties, as well as escalated cleanup, decontamination and monitoring costs.”  

Under the terms of the AG’s settlement with Commodore, the company is required to pay a $175,000 civil penalty, of which $25,000 will be suspended pending its compliance with the consent judgment. The company must also train each of its field superintendents to ensure that any projects they work on that include asbestos are conducted in accordance with the clean air law and the asbestos regulations.  

The AG’s settlement with KO Stone requires the company to pay a $100,000 civil penalty, $20,000 of which will be suspended pending its compliance with the terms of the consent judgment. The company is also required to ensure that its project managers and site supervisors receive asbestos awareness training and to maintain a trained manager at all sites where asbestos is present. The company cannot engage in any asbestos abatement work for two years, and after that time, only if the company has obtained proper licensing.   

Both companies must submit quarterly reports to MassDEP listing the projects that they are working on or have contracted for that require asbestos abatement.  

The AG’s settlement with N.B Kenney requires the company to pay a $50,000 civil penalty, of which $20,000 is suspended pending compliance with the consent judgment, and to ensure that its senior project manager and construction managers receive asbestos awareness training. It must also complete project briefings with a project foreman and convey the information from project briefings to N.B. Kenney employees working at each site where asbestos is present.   

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.  Asbestosis is a serious, progressive, and long-term disease for which there is no known effective treatment. Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that is found in the thin membranes of the lung, chest, abdomen, and heart, that may not show up until many years after exposure, and that has no known cure, although treatment methods are available to address the effects of the disease.  

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.  

This case is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Brian Clappier of the AG’s Environmental Protection Division with assistance from Chief Regional Counsel Anne Blackman and Asbestos Program Section Chief Gregory Levins, both from MassDEP’s Central Regional Office.  

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