Man Sentenced Over Asbestos-Related Charges -- MesoLink.org -- 09-30-05

A 47-year-old Philadelphia man has been sentenced to prison over asbestos-related charges. The man, John Kay of Kay Properties Inc, was sentenced on Thursday and pled guilty to violation of the Clean Air Act after he directed the illegal removal of asbestos from the Old Yarn Mill Self Storage Facility.

Kay was sentenced to 10 months in prison for his part in the illegal asbestos removal, and has been sentenced to a further 3 years of supervised release. In addition to this, he was fined over $15,000, and was found guilty of 7 counts of violating the Clean Air Act.

The illegal removal of asbestos began in 1999, when workers being directed by Kay removed thousands of feet of asbestos piping, letting the dry asbestos material fall to the ground and create contaminated dust. The debris – contaminated with asbestos – was then dumped in skips and outside the building, posing a further risk to the general public.

It is also alleged that the workers were not trained in any aspect of asbestos removal, nor were they told by Kay that they were working with asbestos. The workers were therefore not even wearing the right protective gear or equipment when removing the asbestos.