The Allegheny County Health Department has fined a contractor nearly $1.1 million for illegally disposing of asbestos while renovating the former Westinghouse headquarters in Churchill.
An environmental group called the contractor’s disregard for the asbestos-containing material “unconscionable” and said the fine “is a victory for public health.”
“Their reckless behavior put not only their own workers but also an unknown number of Allegheny County residents at risk of exposure to asbestos,” said Patrick Campbell, executive director of the Swissvale-based Group Against Smog and Pollution.
“We hope this case serves as a cautionary tale for businesses tempted to skirt asbestos-abatement regulations put in place to help protect our air quality and the health of both workers and members of the public,” Campbell added.
Ramesh Jain and his son Vikas “VJ” Jain, along with two companies they help lead — Churchill Community Development LP and Paradigm Consultants LLC — first appealed the fine in 2017. An administrative hearing officer dismissed that appeal Jan. 12 and gave the Jains 30 days to pay the $1,091,675 fine to the county’s clean air fund.
“(Vikas Jain) fully accepts responsibility for his conduct,” one of Jain’s attorneys said in a federal court document. “He feels deep remorse for any harm he has caused. He has taken redemptive action to correct any problems that he may have caused. This includes, but is not limited to, being committed to paying over $1 million to remediate the asbestos issues at the property in question.”
An attorney for the Jains did not return calls seeking comment. A public information officer from the county Health Department declined to comment, citing the possibility of a legal appeal.
The issue started in February 2017 when a Churchill building inspector said he noticed people removing asbestos-containing material from the former Westinghouse property on Beulah Road. Asbestos is a heat-resistant insulating material and carcinogen.
The Health Department responded with an enforcement order telling the Jains to stop all demolition work on buildings #401 and #501 and not allow anyone into the buildings. The Jains appealed.
Vikas “VJ” Jain, who lives in Mt. Lebanon, faced additional charges in federal court. On Sept. 27, 2019, he was charged with knowingly violating the Clean Air Act for the illegal removal of asbestos. He pleaded guilty the following month and was later sentenced to one month behind bars followed by three years of supervised release that included nine months of home detention.
The Jains have operated business entities in the residential and commercial real estate industry for more than 20 years, court records show.
Jain’s Churchill Community Developments LP purchased most of the former George Westinghouse Research and Technology Park in May 2012 and intended to transform it into a residential and commercial development. The plans never materialized, and the Jains instead leased parts of the property to other entities.
In 2021, Churchill Council approved the site for an Amazon warehouse. Amazon later dropped its plans to build there.
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The site was built between the 1950s and the 1970s. It had more than 1 million square feet of testing, laboratory and office space.
Jain knew the site included asbestos-containing material when he bought the property in 2012, court records show.
A 2009 environmental site assessment, which Jain received, said those materials included “floor tile, pipe insulation, transite panels, wall plaster, laboratory countertops, fume hoods and water line fittings.”
The assessment said “all thermal system insulation, surfacing material and asphalt/vinyl flooring that are present in a building constructed prior to 1981 and have not been appropriately tested are presumed asbestos-containing material.”
Required permits were not obtained to do renovations at the site. The county Health Department calculated that the site had more than 160,000 square feet of asbestos-containing floor tile and 10,000 linear feet of amosite, according to the environmental group GASP.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations require permits for removal of asbestos-containing material in excess of 160 square feet and 260 linear feet, GASP officials said.
Health department inspectors also did not see “any evidence” of the required safety equipment, materials, postings, practices and procedures related to the asbestos removal, according to GASP. Workers were observed handling asbestos-containing material without protective gear, and also were directed to dispose of asbestos-containing debris in a dumpster near one of Vikas Jain’s residential rental properties.
The contents of the dumpster, including sealed trash bags containing asbestos-containing material, allegedly were taken to an area landfill that was not qualified to receive the waste, GASP officials said.
Justin Vellucci is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Justin at jvellucci@triblive.com.
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