When it came time to remove asbestos-containing materials from the now-defunct Nestle plant in Fulton, New York, there was a right way to do it and a wrong way. Plant owner Edward Palmer chose the wrong way.

According to an account in the Syracuse Post-Standard, Palmer, age 47, decided that the laws governing asbestos handling and removal didn’t apply to him. First, he failed to tell the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that asbestos removal would be taking place at the plant, which opened in 1899 and has been closed since 2003.

Next, Palmer hired unlicensed workers who weren’t trained in asbestos abatement to tackle the job. They failed to use the proper methods to remove the material, including wetting it first. Wetting the asbestos keeps fibers from becoming airborne. Lastly, Palmer, who owns Carbonsted LLC, did not instruct workers to take the hazardous debris to a state-approved landfill for disposal.

This week, Palmer admitted his guilt in federal court and was charged with violating the federal Clean Air Act by improperly removing a portion of approximately 2,000 feet of friable asbestos insulation from pipes inside the old building, which was the birthplace of Nestle Quik and a variety of other well-known Nestle-manufactured products.

According to the newspaper story, Palmer could potentially receive a sentence of as much as five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing will happen on October 30 in the court of U.S. District Judge Frederick Scullin.

Unfortunately, scenarios such as this are not uncommon around the United States. Individuals purchase old factories and allow them to decay. When it comes time to either demolish or renovate the building, they must tackle the task of asbestos removal. Many building owners decide to take short cuts and their workers, as well as the general public, are often subject to unnecessary asbestos exposure, which can cause them to develop serious diseases later in life, such as mesothelioma cancer.

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