Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

Michael Merit is being accused of false claims of being a certified asbestos inspector and putting many at risk of mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases by performing improper and illegal inspections.

 

The Colorado Grand Jury states that Merit posed as a certified asbestos inspector to get a job with a demolition company, Resource Center, performing work in Elizabeth, Colorado. He then is accused of falsifying lab results that claimed there was no presence of asbestos at a trailer park that was soon to be going through demolition. He then signed a demolition permit reflecting this false information and submitted it to the Department of Public Health and Environment, the local government agency in charge of making sure all environmental safety regulations are followed. 

 

The Resource Center was then given the green light to begin demolishing without performing any asbestos abatement. Standard procedure is that any buildings of this type must have all asbestos containing materials removed prior to doing any renovation or demolition. Based upon the false reports, no such safety precautions were taken and three mobile homes were demolished before the Department of Public Health was alerted that indeed asbestos was present.

 

After performing their own inspections, the state declared the situation an “emergency” because of finding significant amounts of asbestos on site. According to state inspections, there is enough asbestos containing products to fill 55 gallon drums.

 

Exposure to asbestos is very hazardous to anyone in the near vicinity, workers and public alike. During demolition, asbestos is released into the air, where it can easily be inhaled or ingested. The fibers then lodge in the lining of the lungs, heart or abdomen, where they remain dormant for up to forty or fifty years but eventually lead to an incurable cancer called mesothelioma.

 

If the deceit, falsification and negligence alleged by the state are true, many people in the vicinity were put at risk of such exposure to asbestos.  Such acts are now considered to be criminal and charges have been made accordingly against Merit.