A federal grand jury has indicted a Syracuse, New York environmental laboratory that is believed to have been part of a conspiracy to falsify asbestos reports on local homes, schools, and businesses. Certified Environmental Services (CES) and five of its employees have been charged with 16 felony counts in the U.S. District Court in Syracuse.

The indictment alleges that CES, five company employees and a supervisor for Paragon Environmental Construction conspired for nearly 10 years to falsify independent laboratory results related to asbestos cleanup projects. Paragon specialized in asbestos abatement. The conspiracy may have jeopardized public health, as asbestos is linked to lung cancer and mesothelioma, among other medical conditions.

Paragon Environmental Construction was fined $160,000 after employees for the company testified in federal court in late 2008 that they had violated the federal Clean Air Act by illegally removing asbestos and tampering with lab reports. By faking air quality results, many buildings throughout Syracuse were unaware that deadly asbestos was still threatening the health of local residents.

According to the indictment, some of the Syracuse locations that were provided with falsified asbestos reports included the Alpha Chi Omega sorority house at Syracuse University, a furniture warehouse, the building that houses the local TV station, a medical office, and a reading room at the Kellogg Library. EPA agents have contacted those businesses that were affected in order to make sure that a proper asbestos abatement takes place. It has also been reported that CES falsified lab reports at approximately 30 other properties throughout the state, including numerous academic and dormitory buildings at Syracuse University and Le Moyne College. However, despite the falsified reports, it seems that the asbestos abatement carried out at those locations were actually completed properly.

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.