Oregon DEQ Issues Penalty and Order to Lebanon, OR Company for Asbestos Violations

Lebanon, OR residents living near fire-damaged warehouse put at risk for exposure to asbestos, a dangerous carcinogen known to cause serious illnesses such as mesothelioma cancer, asbestos-related lung cancer and asbestosis. Get a free case review from an asbestos lawyer.

In August 2009, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced that a millhouse in Lebanon, OR had been ordered to pay over $63,000 in penalties related to asbestos violations.

The penalties arose after an October 2008 fire at the company’s warehouse, where asbestos-containing materials (ACM) in the building’s roof and pipe insulation were damaged. The fire caused the ACM to become “friable,” meaning asbestos fibers were more likely to be released into the air.

The company was charged with improper asbestos abatement during the cleanup of the warehouse. The company was also charged with failing to properly dispose of ACM. According to the DEQ, unpackaged and unlabeled ACM still remain at the warehouse facility.

Those exposed to asbestos during the improper ACM abatement remain at risk for asbestos disease, but they may not develop symptoms of an illness for 30 or more years.

There is a decades-long latency period (the time between exposure and when symptoms first develop) after exposure to friable asbestos. Because asbestos fibers are not expelled from the lungs like other inhaled substances, the fibers remain in the lungs and can eventually cause microscopic changes and scarring in healthy lung tissue that can lead to asbestos disease.

The DEQ penalty includes over $47,000 assessed against the company for the economic benefit the DEQ alleges the company gained by failing to hire a licensed asbestos abatement contractor to remove ACM at the facility.

The DEQ also issued an order that requires the company to: