Wet Asbestos Removal: EPA Inspector General says the department should stop the unapproved process
On Dec. 15, 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Inspector General signed a report to stop all unapproved asbestos removal methods employed by the EPA.
The report supports what Public Justice, a public interest organization, has been advocating for years—that wet asbestos removal methods expose on-site workers and nearby residents to asbestos, thus increasing their risk of developing an asbestos-related disease. Past asbestos exposure for those workers and residents continue to plague individuals and their families with mesothelioma and other asbestos-related disease diagnoses.
"Public Justice has worked tirelessly to expose the dangers of this method of asbestos removal. It wasn't until it forced the EPA to share documentation through a Freedom of Information Act request and a lawsuit in federal court that the organization began to publicly acknowledge the dangers," said asbestos lawyer and Public Justice Board of Directors member Anne McGinness Kearse.