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KENTUCKY COMPANY AND EMPLOYEE SENTENCED FOR AIR VIOLATIONS

Release Date: 08/03/2000
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FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 2000


KENTUCKY COMPANY AND EMPLOYEE SENTENCED FOR AIR VIOLATIONS

Evans Development Corporation of Louisville, Ky., and Stephen Gassman, a worksite foreman for Evans, were both sentenced on July 25, in U.S. District Court in Louisville for violating the Clean Air Act. Evans was ordered to pay a $100,000 fine and pay $20,000 in restitution to the Jefferson County Air Pollution Control District Trust Fund. Gassman was ordered to serve six months in home confinement and spend two years on probation. The defendants were convicted of causing the illegal removal of asbestos. Specifically, they employed indigent individuals, some of whom were homeless, to remove asbestos without providing them with proper protective equipment. In addition, the people employed to remove the asbestos were not trained or certified in asbestos removal as required by law. Removal of asbestos without training and without protective equipment can lead to the inhalation of asbestos fibers which are a known cause of lung cancer, a lung disease called “asbestosis,” and mesothelioma which is a cancer of the chest and abdominal cavities. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and the FBI. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Louisville, Ky.

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