10/02/09 Black Butte

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has issued a penalty totaling $750 to Black Butte Ranch Corporation for violations related to a friable asbestos abatement project Black Butte employees performed on the east side of Partridgefoot Road in Black Butte Ranch, Oregon.

DEQ assessed the penalty because Black Butte Ranch and its employees are not licensed by DEQ to perform asbestos abatement projects. However, Black Butte employees removed approximately 26 linear feet of asbestos-containing sewer pipe. The excavated pipe was broken into several smaller pieces, loaded into a dump truck and then unloaded onto a tarp. Workers then used a backhoe to break the pipe pieces into even smaller pieces. Breaking the pipe caused the pipe to be rendered friable and capable of being crumbled, pulverized or reduced to powder when dry increasing the likelihood asbestos fibers could become airborne.

The broken pipe pieces remained unpackaged and unlabeled on the ground at the Black Butte Ranch for about four weeks.

Asbestos fibers are a respiratory hazard proven to cause cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis. Asbestos is a danger to public health and a hazardous air pollutant for which there is no known safe level of exposure.

Black Butte Ranch Corporation has until Oct. 12 to appeal the penalty.