Air quality agency collects record asbestos fines

June 27, 2006

OAKLAND -- The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has collected $430,000 in asbestos fines, the largest amount the agency has ever collected, officials said today.

The fines against the two firms were levied for asbestos reporting and removal violations.

USA Properties Fund, Inc., and USA Multifamily Management, Inc., a property management company headquartered in Roseville, agreed to pay $300,000 for using untrained and uncertified laborers to remove asbestos ceiling materials in a Concord apartment complex.

Synergy Environmental, Inc., and Synergy Enterprises, Inc., an asbestos abatement contractor based in Hayward paid $130,000 for doing asbestos abatement work without first notifying the Air District as required by law. Further investigation found the firm performed 250 such jobs between June 2002 and August 2003 without notifying the agency, officials said.

Jack P. Broadbent, the Air District executive officer, said in a statement: "Asbestos is a harmful air contaminant that causes serious adverse health effects when asbestos fibers are inhaled, including asbestosis, lung cancer, mesothelioma, pleural plaques, and other serious diseases."

Source: San Francisco Chronicle