Oregon DEQ Issues Notice to Revoke License of Contractor

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has issued a notice to revoke the Oregon asbestos abatement license of Able Contractors Inc., a Brush Prairie, Wash.-based asbestos removal service company, after the latest in a series of violations of Oregon asbestos laws. The company first obtained its Oregon asbestos abatement license in 1999.

In its notice dated April 5, 2010, DEQ states that Able Contractors “has repeatedly violated Oregon regulations and statutes pertaining to licensed asbestos abatement contractors.” DEQ has issued Able Contractors four penalties for asbestos abatement violations since 2001. The most recent penalty came March 16, 2010, when DEQ issued Able Contractors $20,925 in penalties for violations related to a project on a commercial building in Albany, Ore., last October.

The DEQ claims that the company was fined for mishandling asbestos during removal of about 26,000 square feet of asbestos-containing vinyl floor tiles in a building.

In issuing its revocation notice, DEQ noted that it is “concerned that Able Contractors continues to violate asbestos rules.”

DEQ penalized Able Contractors $16,200 for failing to properly enclose the areas where friable asbestos materials were to be removed. Specifically, the company failed to enclose the asbestos removal area with an adequate number of negative air machines used to exchange and properly ventilate air in the work areas. DEQ also penalized the company $3,150 for failing to install the required minimum number of viewing windows in one of the enclosed asbestos removal areas to ensure work was being done properly. In addition, DEQ assessed a $1,575 penalty for allowing uncertified persons to perform an asbestos abatement project.

Able Contractors has appealed its March 16, 2010 penalty and has until April 26, 2010 to appeal the proposed revocation of its asbestos abatement license.