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FIRST D.C. CLEAN AIR ACT CONVICTION RESULTS FROM ASBESTOS CASE
Release Date: 02/24/2000
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FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, FEB. 24, 2000
FIRST D.C. CLEAN AIR ACT CONVICTION RESULTS FROM ASBESTOS CASE
Ripudaman Gulati of Rockville, Md., pleaded guilty on Feb.10 to violating the Clean Air Act (CAA) in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The conviction, the first in the District under the CAA, stemmed from the illegal removal and disposal of asbestos. Gulati, the owner of an apartment complex located in Southeast Washington, D.C., hired an employee to remove asbestos. Regulations require specific work practice standards for asbestos abatement projects to prevent asbestos fibers from being released into the air, standards that the defendant failed to follow. The asbestos was not adequately watered down, no decontamination sites were set up and no barriers or signs were posted to warn tenants of the hazardous substances that were being released. Also, the asbestos was not disposed of properly and 110 bags of asbestos from the site were found near Gallaudet University. Breathing airborne asbestos fibers can cause lung cancer, a lung disease known as asbestosis, and mesothelioma, which is a cancer of the chest and abdominal cavities. The defendant faces up to five years in prison and/or a fine up to $250,000. The case was investigated by EPA=s Criminal Investigation Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney=s Office for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Department of Justice Environmental Crimes Section.
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