On May 13th, a California resident was convicted of violating the Clean Air Act by a federal jury. The trial lasted five days and the man was accused of demolishing a building that contained asbestos.

The man owned a two-story wooden building which he illegally demolished between 2001 and 2002. He failed to comply with the federal Clean Air Act, which requires the proper removal of asbestos before demolition. Since the asbestos was not removed, the man negligently exposed his employees and nearby residents to a significant amount of asbestos.

The man was charged with three counts of violating the Clean Air Act and faces up to fifteen years in prison, in addition to possible fines of up to $750,000 and restitution.

He is scheduled for sentencing on August 27th.

Asbestos is the only known cause of the rare and deadly form of lung cancer, mesothelioma. It is also the cause of other serious lung ailments, such as asbestosis.

Asbestos attorneys are working on cases in which serious illness has resulted from negligent asbestos exposure.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 17th, 2008 at 5:21 am and is filed under Asbestos, Asbestosis, Lung Cancer, Mesothelioma. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.