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EPA settles asbestos case with Parker Ranch, Kau Kau Corp.

Release Date: 10/20/2003
Contact Information: Dean Higuchi, (808) 541-2711

Parker Ranch Foundation, Kau Kau Corporation to pay $66,300

HONOLULU--The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently settled its case against Parker Ranch Foundation and Kau Kau Corporation that requires the companies to pay $66,300 for alleged asbestos removal violations at the Parker Ranch Grill in Kamuela, Hawai'i.

The June 2003 complaint against the companies is for alleged violations of the EPA's Clean Air Act asbestos regulations covering emission, handling and notification requirements.

"Protecting workers and the public from exposure to asbestos depends upon companies' doing the removal properly," said Robert Trotter, air enforcement inspector with the EPA Pacific Southwest Region's Air Enforcement Office. "The EPA and the Hawai'i Department of Health will continue their inspections and enforce any asbestos violations to ensure that companies follow the rules."

The EPA and the state Department of Health inspectors found that the companies allegedly failed to:

Provide proper notification of the asbestos removal;
Properly wet the asbestos material until it was collected for disposal;
Control the emissions of the material being removed.

The alleged violations took place in July 1998 at the grill at the Parker Ranch Shopping Center. The foundation is the owner of the grill and shopping center. At the time, Kau Kau Corporation was leasing the facility.

Individuals exposed via air emissions to asbestos fibers a known carcinogen can contract illnesses such as mesothelioma and lung cancer.
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