What can I do about apartment complex illegally removing asbestos?
My apartment complex removed asbestos from the hall outside of my apartment without even telling us that they were doing this.
The hall is very long and there’s about 20 doors in the hall leading into apartments.
When they were removing the asbestos everybody living here had to breath it and the dust from it also got into where we are living every time we opened our door.
Can I sue them for this?
They are saying that it wasn’t asbestos but when we first moved in they told us about the asbestos and said not to disturb it and to leave it alone and now they are saying it wasn’t asbestos but just regular paint.
Who can I notify about this and how can I prove it was asbestos they removed if they are saying it wasn’t?
People here have babies and small children all of whom had to breath this cancer causing chemical.
Any help concerning this matter will be greatly appreciated.
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The illegal removing of asbestos is a violation of the clean air act
Dept of health has an office in every major city
Sounds like its time to contact them
As for law suits – now sure whatyou can get there – if you settle now for future damages you wont be able to collect if the damages arent enough in the future bacause you settled now – this will need to be your call – but it is possible
Call the local Health Dept. ASAP. They can impose very severe penalties on the landlord. As to you, you’ll have to sue and claim potential future damages. Get a good lawyer.
Contact the county health department AND the EPA. Do not waste time. Also ask to see the work permit, it’s your right and your health. If you can find a sample of the material that was removed, get it and bag it, then take it to county health or EPA office near you.
Get everyone concerned to vacuum up a small amount of dust from their apartments and put it into a sealable plastic bag and take it to the authorities, whoever that may be and have it tested to see if there is any asbestos in it. If there is you may all have a case against whoever it was that removed it. Just remember to keep each apartments dust in separate bags from each other.
Immediately contact your local DHEC dept.
or any local authority related to health issues
Yikes! Contact your health department, asap! As far as suing, you can sue for anything these days, so sure.
EPA will do the trick and could give you a reward for turning them in if you stay on them about it, on top of that you probably have a good lawsuit for negligence with malice!
contact the health department first,they will be able to determine if it was abestos.
In my state, it’s the Department of Environmental Quality, unless you’re in a certain county, then it can come under the county’s air quality regulation agency. So, be prepared for the health department to steer you to someone else.
If the building was constructed after 1980, there’s little chance it’s asbestos containing, but not impossible. You can take a full-depth sample of the hallway walls or whatever they’re demolishing and take it to an accredited lab – look for "environmental services" in the yellow pages. Analysis can range from 12 to 30 dollars, but would be well worth it.
Do NOT use a vacuum. It’s very difficutl to analyze, and impossible to give an accurate number from. Also, there’s no published and approved method for analyzing asbestos in vacuum bags….For air sampling, you need appropriate pumps, filters, and you need to know the air flow volume. This is best left for an industrial hygienist.
Bulk samples, if you decide to take one, should be taken with a clean tool, put in a sealed plastic bag, record the location taken, maybe take pictures, and send it to a lab. Or – call your air quality regulatory agency and "sic them" on it. Good luck.