Huge Asbestos Release in Michigan Leads to Three Convictions

March 24, 2015- A woman and two men from Southwest Michigan face up to five years in prison after pleading guilty in what investigators say may have been the largest release of asbestos in Michigan since the material was declared a hazardous air pollutant in 1971.

Cory Hammond, of Hastings, and LuAnne LaBrie and Robert "Mike" White, both of Kalamazoo, each pleaded guilty in February to violating the Clean Air Act, according to a news release issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Grand Rapids.

LaBrie plead guilty to failing to notify federal or state authorities that asbestos material would be stripped and removed at the former Consumers Energy power generation facility in Comstock Township.

Hammond and White each pleaded guilty to failing to adequately wet asbestos material while stripping and removing asbestos inside the facility.

The asbestos release led to a $1 million cleanup by the EPA’s Superfund Division. LaBrie, Hammond and White have agreed to pay restitution to the EPA for the cost of the cleanup.

"Companies and individuals handling regulated asbestos material must follow basic workplace practices designed to protect both the workers who handle the hazardous material and the air we breathe," U.S. Attorney Patrick Miles said.

Read the full mlive.com post here.

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