Newsroom
All News Releases By Date
PA FLORIDA MEN SENTENCED FOR EXPOSING HOMELESS TO ASBESTOS
Release Date: 01/16/98
Contact Information:
FOR RELEASE: JANUARY 16, 1998
FLORIDA MEN SENTENCED FOR EXPOSING HOMELESS TO ASBESTOS
On Jan. 7, Arthur Newman and Lawrence Rothman, both of Miami, Fla., were sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami for violating the Clean Air Act by renovating a warehouse without following federal procedures for the safe removal of 1,600 square feet of ceiling tiles which contained asbestos. Despite specific warnings about their actions and the posting of signs at the job site by an inspector from the Dade County Department of Environmental Resource Management (DERM), the defendants proceeded with the project in violation of the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants. The defendants’ illegal actions included failing to provide advance notice of their project, ignoring the DERM inspector’s warnings that laboratory tests confirmed the presence of asbestos, and hiring homeless individuals to perform the removal of asbestos laden material without providing them proper protective gear. Inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause lung cancer and a lung disease known as “asbestosis” in people. The defendants were each sentenced to five months in prison, an additional five months home confinement and three years of supervised release. In addition, they must reimburse DERM for expenses incurred during the investigation. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and DERM.
R-4 ###
Search this collection of releases | or search all news releases
View selected historical press releases from 1970 to 1998 in the EPA History website.
