A Eugene, Oregon developer is facing asbestos-related felony charges, and will have to appear in court in August. Eugene’s Dan Desler appeared in Linn County Circuit Court yesterday, and was granted the August continuance at the behest of his attorney. Meanwhile, federal officials are preparing to clean up the asbestos-contaminated site using EPA Superfund money. The cleanup is expected to begin this summer. The property in question is a former mill located in Sweet Home.

Desler was arrested earlier this month and charged with felony air pollution crimes. Desler had been under investigation for months by both the Oregon State Police and the EPA. Desler has now been charged with seven felony counts of first-degree unlawful air pollution, three misdemeanor counts of second-degree unlawful air pollution, a felony count of supplying false information to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. The charges are based on Desler’s involvement in a demolition project in Sweet Home where the demolition of old mills buildings caused asbestos to be spread around the property.

Dan Heister of the EPA’s Emergency Response Unit in Portland has visited the Sweet Home property on numerous occasions to take samples. The asbestos at the site is located in both roofing materials and the concrete rubble scattered around the property. Heister has confirmed that the asbestos present at the site is the type that can be easily broken down into small particles that can become airborne.

Once airborne, small asbestos fibers can be inhaled and may subsequently lodge in the pleural lungs, leading to lung cancer or mesothelioma. In recent years, breakthroughs in treatment – such as the combination of Cisplatin® and Alimta® following resectable surgery – have led to an increase in patient survival rates. There is no cure for mesothelioma, however, and oncologists like Dr. Carrie Redlich of Yale University continue to focus on researching this disease with the goal of discovering a cure.

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