EPA issues asbestos compliance order in PA

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an administrative compliance order on March 31, 2011 to the owner, Arsenal Associates, and the property management company, Hankin Management, Inc., of the Arsenal Business Center, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

EPA’s order, which became effective on April 6, addressed alleged violations of Clean Air Act regulations of demolition and renovation activities involving buildings with asbestos-containing materials. The alleged violations were discovered between September 2010 and March 2011.

The order alleged that Hankin and Arsenal violated the Clean Air Act asbestos regulations by failing to provide adequate notice to EPA of demolition/renovation projects involving asbestos; failing to adequately wet all regulated asbestos containing material which had been removed or stripped from the site and to ensure that all of these materials remained adequately wet until collected and contained in preparation for proper disposal; and failing to properly dispose of asbestos-containing waste material as soon as practical.