Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

Ford Lumber & Building Supply Inc. was fined $132,000 by the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration for multiple asbestos violations including illegal removal, transportation, and dumping of the known carcinogen.  The violations include careless dumping of asbestos containing materials in unsecured piles outdoors- piles which remained exposed to for months.

In total, the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration (IOSHA) identified 16 violations which may have caused employees, tenants, and the general public to be unnecessarily exposed to the deadly material at a single southern Indiana jobsite.

The violations occurred during a renovation project at the former Jefferson Proving Ground.  The Proving Ground officially closed in 1995 and Ford Lumber's owner, Dean Ford, purchased 2,475 acres of the property and entered into a lease-to-own agreement for an additional 1,200 of the former government facility.

The company employed workers to remove steam heat pipes which were insulated with materials containing asbestos without properly securing the jobsite, notifying the proper officials, or handling the materials in a safe fashion. 

Federal law requires that jobsites must be isolated using a double airlock system during asbestos removal.  The removed materials must be transported in sealed containers and properly wetted to avoid accidentally allowing airborne asbestos fibers to escape.  In addition, only certified facilities are allowed to receive building materials which contain asbestos.  The allegations by the IOSHA make it clear that Ford Lumber failed on every count. 

"There was a great, great deficiency," said IOSHA spokeswoman Stephanie McFarland.  What’s worse, all of the violations for which the company was cited were classified as “knowing” violations, meaning that the company supervisors knew asbestos was a health hazard and did nothing to protect workers or tenants at the Proving Ground jobsite. 

In total, 14 dump-truck loads of asbestos pipe insulation (roughly 10,000 linear feet--just under 2 miles) and other assorted debris were piled outside where the wind and rainwater could carry it away.

McFarland understands the insidious nature of asbestos disease.  Such ailments can lay unnoticed for decades after initial asbestos exposure.  "Nothing could show up today, but then 20 years later you've got some poor guy who's going to the doctor and he's coughing and he's got malignant mesothelioma," McFarland said.

The company had the opportunity to contest the violations or pay the fines.  There is no word yet as to whether or not federal officials will be looking into the asbestos violations or if Ford could be facing criminal charges for his misconduct.