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U.S. EPA fines Imperial County contractor and property owner $9,030 for federal asbestos violation

Release Date: 01/16/2008
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LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has fined Imperial County contractor, Floyd Nelson Jr. and Sons, Inc. and property owner, The Soco Group, Inc. $9,030 for demolishing a structure without notifying the Agency, as required by federal Clean Air Act asbestos regulations.

The Soco Group, Inc. owned the Texaco Mini Mart at 1865 W. Adams Ave. in El Centro and hired Floyd Nelson Jr. and Sons, Inc. to demolish the building. Neither Soco nor Nelson notified the EPA about the demolition before it occurred, as required under the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants regulations for asbestos.

“When a building is demolished, asbestos must be properly removed in order to protect the health of the public and immediate community,” said Deborah Jordan, director of the EPA’s Air Division for the Pacific Southwest. “We can avoid creating a public health threat from airborne asbestos when safeguards are put in place.”

The EPA has classified asbestos, a known carcinogen, as a hazardous air pollutant. Individuals exposed to asbestos fibers are at risk of contracting illnesses such as mesothelioma and lung cancer.

For more information on asbestos, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/help.html

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