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APPALACHIAN POWER, CONTRACTOR TO PAY $23,000 OVER ASBESTOS VIOLATIONS AT GLEN LYN PLANT

Release Date: 5/11/1999
Contact Information: David Sternberg (215) 814-5548

GLEN LYN, Va. -- Appalachian Power Co., Inc., and asbestos removal contractor Global Power Co., Inc., have agreed to pay a $23,000 penalty to settle alleged violations of asbestos regulations at Appalachian’s Glen Lyn, Va. power plant, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today.

According to EPA’s September 30, 1998 complaint, these Clean Air Act violations occurred during Global's renovation project at Unit 5 of the plant. During an October 1996 inspection, an EPA official observed dry asbestos remaining from a renovated area at Unit 5. The inspector later observed a trailer containing several hundred bags of asbestos-containing debris from the project at the HAM sanitary landfill in Peterstown, W. Va. A sampling of several bags revealed that the asbestos had not been kept adequately wet before being bagged.

To reduce the risk of asbestos emissions, EPA’s regulations require that asbestos-containing materials that may release asbestos fibers during demolition or renovation must be adequately wetted during removal, and carefully handled to prevent unnecessary damage. These materials must remain adequately wetted, or be securely bagged or otherwise treated to minimize asbestos emissions until disposal.

The companies, which neither admitted nor denied liability in the settlement papers, certified that they are now in compliance with the cited asbestos regulations.

Asbestos is a hazardous air pollutant that was once heavily used in insulation and other building materials. Prolonged exposure and inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause cancer and asbestosis, a serious respiratory disease. For more information on asbestos demolition and renovation requirements, please contact EPA Region III’s Asbestos Enforcement Section, 215/814-2111.