Three companies to pay up to $325K for illegal Fitchburg State asbestos work

Photo | Courtesy Andrea Campell's campaign website Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell

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By Timothy Doyle

Three companies contracted for a 2018 renovation and demolition project at a Fitchburg State University dorm will pay up to $325,000 combined in civil penalties for repeatedly and illegally failing to properly remove and dispose of asbestos, or asbestos-containing material, according to a Friday press release by the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General.

The dorm was unoccupied by students but housed a functioning student health services center, according to the press release.

The contractors conducted a portion of the project’s asbestos abatement work without proper training or licensing before the asbestos abatement contractor for the project arrived on site. As a result, the abatement contractor was unable to properly contain and abate the asbestos in accordance with the schedule submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection, and MassDEP was not able to inspect the asbestos abatement work that had occurred.

"The careless and illegal actions of these companies put the health and safety of their workers, Fitchburg State University employees, and nearby residents at risk,” Attorney General Andrea Campbell said in the press release. “As part of our ongoing work to build healthier communities, this office will continue to hold companies accountable for workplace and environmental law violations”

N.B. Kenney Co. Inc., a Devens mechanical contractor, was ordered to pay a $50,000 civil penalty, of which $20,000 is suspended pending compliance with the consent judgment, and to ensure its senior project manager and construction managers receive asbestos awareness training.

General contractor Commodore Builders Inc. of Waltham was ordered to pay a $175,000 civil penalty, $25,000 of which will be suspended pending its compliance with the consent judgment.

Woburn-based demolition contractor K.O. Stone will be required to pay $100,000, $20,000 of which will be suspended pending its compliance with the terms of the consent judgment. The company cannot engage in any asbestos abatement work for two years, and after that time, only if the company has obtained proper licensing.

In addition to further asbestos training, Commodore and K.O. Stone must submit quarterly reports to MassDEP listing the projects they are working on or have contracted for requiring asbestos abatement.

“General contractors, demolition contractors and plumbing companies must be very familiar with the need to use licensed asbestos contractors to ensure that asbestos-containing materials are handled in accordance with the regulations,” Mary Jude Pigsley, director of MassDEP’s Central Regional Office in Worcester, said in the press release. “As reflected in the settlement agreement, failure to follow these requirements will result in significant penalties, as well as escalated cleanup, decontamination and monitoring costs.”