Asbestos Company Fined for Violations in Shrewsbury Project

A & E Environmental, a Leominster asbestos abatement contractor, must pay a previously suspended penalty of $14,312.50 after the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) determined that the company violated state asbestos regulations for a second time within a year.

A & E Environmental was fined $19,312.50 in May of 2014 for asbestos violations at a residential building in Millbury. The firm paid $5,000 of the penalty, but MassDEP suspended the remaining amount with the stipulation that the company have no further violations for a year, said the MassDEP.

On Dec. 30, 2014, MassDEP observed new asbestos violations by the company at a job on Lake Street in Shrewsbury. MassDEP saw that the company had failed to adequately seal the work area and failed to use a HEPA-filtered air ventilation system to control asbestos fibers.

As a result of those violations, MassDEP issued a Demand for Payment to A & E Environmental to collect the $14,312.50 penalty previously suspended.

MassDEP required the company personnel to correct the violations in the Shrewsbury location at the time of the inspection.

“Licensed asbestos abatement contractors are aware of the work practices that must be followed to conduct their work safely and in compliance with the regulations. Asbestos is a known carcinogen, and following those work practices is imperative to ensure building occupants and the general public are not exposed to asbestos fibers,” said Mary Jude Pigsley, director of MassDEP’s Central Regional Office in Worcester, in a statement. “Failure to do so will result in significant penalties, as well as potential licensing sanctions against the violator.”