Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

A Wisconsin contractor has been found guilty of violating asbestos removal laws and has been ordered to pay fines of $50,000 for failure to abide by those guidelines.  The fines were levied against Brian Fuchs and his contracting business Vanguard Contracting by Fond du Lac County Judge Richard Nuss.  In addition, the development company which owns the property where the violations occurred, Rolling Meadows Development LLC., must share some of the financial responsibility.

Fuchs did not deny that violations had occurred.  Instead, he argued that one of his employees brought concerns about asbestos to his attention, concerns which he acted upon, but by the time that happened the work had already progressed too far to be stopped.  The judge didn’t agree and assessed the $50,000 in penalties.

Tim Burns, the manager for Rolling Meadows Development LLC., said that “. . . the scope of the job … was something that was almost beyond [Fuchs'] control."

Fuchs and his contracting company were retained to do renovations on a hotel complex in Fond Du Lac at the former Rolling Meadows Nursing Home at 1155 S. Military Road.  During the process, asbestos was discovered in the flooring materials at the site.  Shortly thereafter work was halted, managers citing “unanticipated financial challenges.”

The Department of Justice filed claims against Fuchs and his companies after concerns about the practices being employed at the site reached the desks of officials within the Department of Natural Resources.

An investigation by the Department of Natural Resources found that between Nov. 18, 2009 and April 9, 2010 Fuchs employed workers to demolish interior walls.  During this process asbestos materials were disturbed creating an unsafe work environment.  However, Fuchs had not, and did not, retain the services of asbestos certified laborers to remove the materials.  Nor did the workers employ proper techniques for handling the cancer-causing materials- both required by state law.

These negligent actions put the health and very lives of workers at risk.  Airborne asbestos fibers cause a wide variety of deadly and debilitating diseases including multiple forms of cancers, of which mesothelioma is the most aggressive.  Sadly, mesothelioma and these other asbestos diseases are 100% preventable.  Cities, states, and the federal government all have laws in place to mandate the exact procedures for handling asbestos containing materials to minimize the risk to workers and the general public.  By ignoring those laws, Fuchs intentionally endangered his employees.

Burns says that he hopes ". . . to get back into the property in early spring" and finish the work by the end of next year.  He declined to comment on the added cost of asbestos removal.