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FOUR WASHINGTON STATE MANAGERS INDICTED FOR ASBESTOS REMOVAL OFFENSES
Release Date: 02/19/99
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FOR RELEASE: FEBRUARY 19, 1999
FOUR WASHINGTON STATE MANAGERS INDICTED FOR
ASBESTOS REMOVAL OFFENSES
ASBESTOS REMOVAL OFFENSES
Charles Michael McBeth of Tacoma, Wash.; Thomas Pearson of Olympia, Wash.; Van Mobley of Mount Vernon, Wash.; and Gregory Bischel of Marysville, Wash.; were indicted on Feb. 4, in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle for allegedly violating the Clean Air Act. McBeth was vice-president and the other three men were supervisors at Environmental Maintenance Services Corp. (EMSC), a dissolved corporation formerly located in Tukwila, Wash. The charges arose from the defendants’ alleged role in the improper removal of asbestos while EMSC was a subcontractor doing asbestos abatement and demolition work on boilers at the central heating plant at the U.S. Naval Air Station at Whidbey Island, Wash. The indictment alleges that during the demolition of a boiler, from June 24 to July 24, 1996, asbestos was removed without first being properly wetted to suppress asbestos dust. Inhalation of asbestos dust by workers can lead to lung cancer, a lung disease known as “asbestosis,” and mesothelioma, which is a cancer of the chest and abdominal cavities. If convicted, all four men face a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000. This case is being investigated jointly by the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.
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