Alleged Illegal Asbestos Removal at Whitney Mill, NC Site Owned by Long Island, NY Man

EPA investigates asbestos abatement at Whitney Mill site in Spartanburg County, NC and Long Island, NY man who owns the property. Exposure to the dangerous carcinogen is known to cause a number of serious illnesses, including mesothelioma cancer, asbestos-related lung cancer and asbestosis.

On November 7, 2009 the Spartanburg Herald-Journal reported that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had executed a search warrant at the former Whitney Mill site as part of their investigation into the alleged demolition, removal and burial of asbestos materials at the site and that the property owner allegedly had the work performed improperly and without following state and federal regulations for the removal and disposal of the cancer-causing mineral.

The investigation began in November 2008 when the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC) received a tip that illegal asbestos removal was being done at the warehouse. As part of their investigation, the DHEC learned the property had been sold in June 2008 to a Long Island, NY man and that the man’s company, a commercial and industrial machinery and equipment company based in Great Neck, was listed as the corporate owner of the property.

Workers, Warehouse Tenants and Those Living or Working at the Warehouse Placed at Risk
If asbestos is not removed according to state and federal guidelines, those performing the work, as well as those who live or work in the areas where asbestos materials are removed or disposed, are placed at significant risk for potential exposure to dangerous asbestos dust.

When asbestos fibers are inhaled, they remain in the lungs and are not easily expelled by coughing, sneezing or blowing one’s nose. The microscopic fibers, which have sharp edges, attach to lung tissue, where they can cause serious illnesses many decades after exposure (known as “asbestos latency periods”). Many decades after exposure, the lung tissue scarred by asbestos can result on chronic lung or pulmonary illnesses like pleural plaques disease, or can trigger the lungs to product the abnormal cells that cause lung cancer or mesothelioma tumors to develop.

NC DHEC Regulates Asbestos Remediation Projects in North Carolina
The DHEC oversees all asbestos abatement, renovation and demolition projects, whether for commercial properties or private residential properties where asbestos-containing materials (ACM) are present. For more information on the regulations that must be followed in North Carolina, click here.

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