Newsroom
All News Releases By Date
PA ALASKA COMPANY AND MANGER PLEAD GUILTY TO ASBESTOS CHARGE
Release Date: 04/17/98
Contact Information:
FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 1998
ALASKA COMPANY AND MANGER PLEAD GUILTY TO ASBESTOS CHARGE
On April 6, Mountain Aviation of Sitka, Alaska, and Mark Hackett, Mountain Aviation’s Operations Manager, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska in Anchorage to violating the Clean Air Act. The defendants admitted that they hired three teenagers to clean up an area where asbestos-containing material had been improperly removed. The asbestos was contained in bags which leaked asbestos dust and the teenagers were not provided with protective gear. Inhaling asbestos particles can cause lung cancer and a lung disease known as “asbestosis.” In addition, the asbestos was improperly disposed of at a landfill adjacent to ballfields near the Sitka Elementary school. Mountain Aviation has agreed to pay a fine of $50,000 and has also agreed to establish a trust fund for the medical monitoring of the three teenagers. In addition, Mountain Aviation has agreed to publish a written statement concerning its offense and conviction in five Alaskan newspapers. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division.
R-41 ###
Search this collection of releases | or search all news releases
View selected historical press releases from 1970 to 1998 in the EPA History website.
