Firm fined for asbestos violation

A Klamath Falls construction company has been fined $3,000 by the state for improper disposal of asbestos from a downtown project.Bogatay Construction has until Dec. 15 to pay the fine for failing to properly package and label broken, shattered asbestos-containing debris from the company's remodeling project of the KC Building, 296 Main St., according to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
The building's old look - a tan paint job adorned with red arrows beckoning shoppers to come in to KC Paint for rugs, gifts and more at discount prices, as well as arched windows - was exposed when workers peeled off an exterior facade in spring 2004.On Feb. 15, the DEQ sent Bogatay a notice of noncompliance detailing the company's asbestos violations. The notice came after site visits by DEQ officials in 2004 and 2005.Asbestos fibers are a respiratory hazard proven to cause lung cancer, mesothelioma, asbestosis and other respiratory disease, according to the DEQ. There is no safe level of exposure to asbestos-contaminated air.A state-licensed asbestos abatement contractor is required to handle the removal of friable asbestos-containing materials. “Friable” is the term that asbestos specialists use to describe the way it can be readily crumbled into dust.“They didn't do the basement right,” said Phil Hodgen, DEQ spokesman.Because Bogatay workers did not bag the debris properly, there was the danger of asbestos getting into the air, exposing neighbors and the public, DEQ officials said. The asbestos was mostly in insulation wrapped around pipes in the building's basement.