Maryland Navy Salvage Company and Owner Sentenced For Asbestos Violations

From Navy shipfitters, those who refitted ships at a Navy Yard, pipefitters and salvage demolition workers, to those toiling on railroads and in construction, Weitz & Luxenberg has fought for the rights for thousands of clients who were needlessly exposed to asbestos and developed an asbestos disease.

On Feb. 13, 1998, the owners of a Baltimore, MD salvage company were sentenced on several felony violations related to improper asbestos abatement during the demolition of two Navy vessels.   

The violations took place when the company was executing a Navy contract demolish and scrap the minesweeper U.S.S. Illusive and the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Coral Sea.

Between May 1993 and September 1995, the men were alleged to have directed employees to remove asbestos-containing materials (ACM) from the two ships.  However, neither the men nor the company were licensed to perform asbestos abatement. 

In addition, the employees performing the illegal asbestos abatement were not trained in the removal of ACM and they were not provided with protective equipment as required under the Clean Air Act.  This caused the workers to be put at risk for serious diseases such as mesothelioma cancer, asbestos-related lung cancer and asbestosis.

The men were also convicted of discharging oil, construction debris, paint chips, metal fragments, insulation materials and other pollutants into the Patapsco River, an area river that flows into the Chesapeake Bay.