WASHINGTON After a two day hearing in federal…
WASHINGTON – After a two day hearing in federal court in
Rochester, U.S. District Court Judge Charles J. Siragusa sentenced
Keith Gordon-Smith, 54, of Rochester, N.Y., to six years in prison
late yesterday for knowingly violating the Clean Air Act and making
false statements to a federal inspector. Gordon-Smith was also
sentenced to serve a three year term of supervised release to
follow his prison term and was ordered to pay a $1,100 special
assessment. Gordon Smith’s now defunct company was sentenced
to pay a special assessment of $44,000. No level of exposure to
asbestos is safe, so removal by untrained workers, performed
without the necessary safeguards, threatens the health of those
workers and the public.
“Ensuring Clean Air Act work practice standards for asbestos
are followed when renovating or razing a building is critical to
protecting workers and the public,” said Cynthia Giles,
assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance. “This sentence shows that when
employers fail to adhere to the requirements of the law to make a
profit, the consequences are serious.”
“The court’s sentence properly punishes Gordon-Smith
and his company for the egregious crimes that placed workers and
their families at risk and for his complete disregard of the
environmental laws that protect human health and the
environment,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, assistant attorney
general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the
Department of Justice. “The court’s sentence should
send a strong message to asbestos abatement contractors that they
will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the
law.”
“The highly dangerous actions of Keith Gordon-Smith exposed
both workers and the public to hazardous materials,” said
U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. “Those in the asbestos
removal industry are well compensated for their work, but in return
are under legal and moral obligation to perform the job correctly.
When a company cuts corners - or worse - intentionally exposes
workers and the public to harm - our Office will act quickly and
decisively.”
Gordon-Smith hired a number of workers who had no training in
asbestos removal and did not know they were being exposed to the
asbestos while removing the copper pipes. Evidence at sentencing
showed that when workers questioned Gordon-Smith, he lied and told
them the areas did not contain asbestos. Gordon-Smith ultimately
lied to an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
inspector who came to the site in September and October 2007 to
investigate allegations of illegal asbestos removal.
When the workers removed the pipes and scrap metal, they were
repeatedly exposed to asbestos, and described that the asbestos
fell on them “like snow.” The workers were not provided
with any protective clothing or respirators while tearing out the
asbestos-contaminated pipes and wore their asbestos-contaminated
clothing back to their homes and families after work.
The jury also convicted Gordon-Smith and his company, Gordon-Smith
Contracting, Inc. (GSCI), of causing GSCI workers to illegally
remove and dispose of asbestos during the actual asbestos abatement
at the west wing of the Genesee Hospital complex, from May 2007
until February 2009. The asbestos was allowed to flow from upper
floors through drains and holes in containment. Large amounts of
asbestos were left hidden in the west wing. Gordon-Smith was fired
from the site in February 2009. The building was subsequently
cleaned of asbestos before it was demolished in September
2010.
Gordon-Smith and his company were also convicted by the jury of
six counts of failing to provide required notices to EPA prior to
commencing asbestos abatement projects at six different sites in
the Rochester area, between 2005 and June 2008. The sites included
the west wing of the Genesee Hospital complex, Cobbles Elementary
School in Penfield, Bloomfield Elementary School in East
Bloomfield, the Al Sigl Center in Rochester, and the Hillside
Children’s Center in Varick.
Asbestos work practice standards under the Clean Air Act require
that all asbestos must be removed from any structure where it may
be disturbed, such as the west wing of the Genesee Hospital
complex, where Gordon-Smith ordered the workers to remove pipes
contaminated with asbestos. While asbestos is removed during
abatement, it must be wetted and kept adequately wet at all times
and disposed of as soon as practical at an EPA-approved site.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the
Western District of New York with the Environmental Crimes Section
of the Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. The
case was investigated by the U.S. EPA Criminal Investigation
Division and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Inspector
General. Criminal investigators were assisted by OSHA and the New
York Department of Labor Asbestos Control Bureau.
More information on asbestos: https://www.epa.gov/asbestos
More information about EPA’s criminal enforcement
program: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/criminal/index.html
Report an environmental violation: https://echo.epa.gov/report-environmental-violations