ASBESTOS REMOVAL
Asbestos removal costs escalate for abandoned tissue mill in Augusta, Maine
Augusta, the site of an ongoing asbestos removal project at an abandoned paper mill, is one of three cities in Maine receiving EPA grants for asbestos removal.
In May, the government released data on Maine’s mesothelioma death rate, and identified the state as having the highest asbestos-related mesothelioma mortality rate per capita of any state in the nation.
Since 1986, Weitz & Luxenberg has protected the legal rights of workers and residents injured by occupational asbestos exposure. And in that time the firm's mesothelioma lawyers have won several billion dollars in verdicts and settlements for these clients.
Injured by asbestos? Weitz & Luxenberg has a Kennebec County, Maine asbestos lawyer for you. Obtain a free legal consultation through the communication form at left and determine your eligibility to receive financial compensation.
ASBESTOS NEWS UPDATE:
August 31, 2009 – More asbestos has been discovered on the 17-acre site of the former Statler Tissue mill based in Augusta, Maine.
Exactly how much asbestos and how much it will cost to remove is still unknown, according to City Manager William Bridgeo. “It's expected to be significant,” he told the Kennebec Journal.
Officials knew there was asbestos on the abandoned mill site, which runs along Maine’s Kennebec River. The amounts found, however, have far exceeded estimates and the $25,000 originally budgeted for additional asbestos removal.
Asbestos removal in Maine
In June, the U.S. Environmental Agency (EPA) awarded Maine $6.1 million in federal grants to cleanup a half dozen sites polluted with asbestos and other toxins. Augusta is one of three cities in Maine receiving the grants. Maine’s EPA asbestos grants are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that the Obama Administration signed into law in February.
Before the discovery of more asbestos at the Augusta tissue mill site, Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection had estimated asbestos removal expenses to total $75,000.
That's because engineers from Summit Environmental Consultants Inc. had gone through the former mill before it was dismantled, to estimate how much asbestos was there. The city is seeking payment from Summit, or its insurance agent, for the cost of removing the asbestos the consulting firm overlooked.
Inhalation of asbestos fibers has been linked to mesothelioma, a fatal cancer that claims the lives of 3,000 Americans every year.
Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C.
Government sources estimate that in the next decade more than 35,000 people nationwide will be diagnosed with the deadliest form of asbestos-related cancer, mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma is most often the result of occupational asbestos exposure – and usually contracted through employers’ preference for profits over the health and safety of their workers.
If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma and seek a free case review, please notify us through the communication form at left. We will pursue your claim with vigilance to help you pay for medical bills, lost wages, and suffering.
Because the firm works on a contingency basis, there is no cost to you until we obtain a settlement or a verdict in your favor.
Lawyer notes Maine's Lincoln County is plagued by asbestos fatalities