Seattle Homebuilder Charged for Failure to Properly Remove Asbestos

A Seattle homebuilder faces criminal charges for improperly removing asbestos-containing materials from a house slated for demolition in Renton.

The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office has charged John Long, owner of Long Classic Homes Ltd. in Puyallup, with violating Washington's Clean Air Act. He faces up to a year in jail and a $10,000 fine for each of four counts charged against him.

A state-federal environmental-crimes task force from the state Department of Ecology and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency investigated the case.

Washington's Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) and the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency assisted with the investigation.

Ecology investigators found that Long and his sons attempted to remove an asbestos "popcorn" ceiling and vinyl-asbestos flooring themselves in October 2001, rather than pay for proper removal by a certified asbestos-removal company. None of the Longs are certified to remove asbestos materials.

The task force also learned that Long was aware of the asbestos requirements and had obtained a professional asbestos survey that identified the asbestos materials in the house and outlined the steps required to remove them.

"The charges allege that Mr. Long knowingly violated these health and safety laws," said Lynn Prunhuber, a senior deputy prosecuting attorney. "Our concern in filing these charges is the health risk to Mr. Long, his own sons, other workers and transfer-station staff caused by exposure to these very hazardous fibers."

Long is charged with failing to notify Puget Sound Clean Air, failing to use workers certified to remove and handle asbestos, illegally disposing asbestos debris with regular garbage and failing to place barriers and warnings to protect other people from being exposed to the fibers.

A certified asbestos-removal firm would have followed all of these steps, using licensed supervisors and employees.

Asbestos fibers are known to cause lung cancer and other lung damage. The mineral has been banned from use in popcorn ceilings since 1978, but many other building materials may contain asbestos. State and federal laws strictly govern the demolition of buildings containing asbestos materials because the fibers can be easily released into the air, posing a health risk to work crews and other people nearby.