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ALASKA COMPANY AND OWNER CONVICTED OF AIR AND WATER VIOLATIONS

Release Date: 10/13/2000
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, OCT. 13, 2000

ALASKA COMPANY AND OWNER CONVICTED OF AIR AND WATER VIOLATIONS

Technic Services Inc. and its owner, Rick Rushing, were each convicted on Oct. 5, on one count of violating the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. The convictions resulted from the illegal removal of asbestos at the Alaska Pulp Mill in Sitka. In addition, Rushing was convicted of seven counts of obstructing justice. While performing the work in 1996, Technic employees, at Rushing’s direction, knocked asbestos off of pipes and boilers with high power fire hoses, washed asbestos-contaminated water down drains, and dropped dry asbestos insulation from heights of up to 60 feet, creating clouds of asbestos dust. This resulted in significant exposure of the workers to the inhalation of hazardous asbestos fibers. Inhaling asbestos fibers is a known cause of lung cancer, a respiratory disease known as “asbestosis” and mesothelioma which is a cancer of the chest and abdominal cavities. Furthermore, Rushing encouraged employees to turn off personal air monitoring devices in an attempt to prevent regulators from discovering high asbestos fiber counts resulting from Technic’s illegal abatement practices. When an unannounced inspection by the Alaska Department of Labor and the EPA revealed many of these practices, Rushing solicited signed statements from Technic employees in which employees falsely claimed that none of the asbestos-contaminated waste water was washed down the drains. Rushing faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each obstruction of justice count when sentenced and additional penalties on the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act convictions. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, EPA’s Office of Air Quality, the National Enforcement Investigations Center and the Alaska Department of Labor and was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office, District of Alaska.

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