Contractor Tied To Asbestos Removal In Wilmington Slapped With $6,000 Fine

WILMINGTON, MA -- The Wilmington Board of Health fined a contractor $6,000 for violating regulations when he tore down a house at 13 Muse Avenue. Neighbors say Jonathan Langone of Langone Development Group Inc. failed to properly remove asbestos before beginning demolition under a permit granted by the town August 29. Langone also had his septic installers license suspended through the end of 2018.

Langone was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.

Workers resumed the demolition and debris removal work of the century-old house this week. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection had halted work on the project after siding in the house tested positive for asbestos. Neighbors had complained to DEP and the town that Langone Development Group, Inc. was skirting rules that regulate the removal of the cancer-causing material.

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The Board of Health decided to fine Langone at its meeting Tuesday night, according to the Wilmington Apple. The board can fine contractors $300 per violation, with each day being calculated as a new violation, the Apple said. Contractors are licensed by the state, but the board of health does issue them licenses for installing septic systems.

At last week's selectmen's meeting, the board heard from angry Muse Avenue residents. At that meeting, Health Department Director Shelly Newhouse said Lagone "knew what he was doing" and called the company "a shoddy contractor."

"I want to make clear that this contractor knew what he was doing," she said during last week's meeting. "He did something illegal and he did something wrong."

Still, the town said it needs to reevaluate its oversight process. At the meeting, Town Manager Jeff Hull said he had been talking with town department heads to figure out what had gone wrong in the town's oversight of the project. "I'm not going to make excuses," Hull said, adding he took full responsibility for the mistake.

"The fact is we directly do not have responsibility for regulation of asbestos," Hull said. "That said, what we should have done is when we became aware that this gentleman was going rogue and demolishing this building, we should have contacted DEP.

For more on this story, see the Wilmington Apple.

Photo by Dave Copeland.