A company based out of Marlborough, Massachusetts has been fined over $50,000 by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection after officials discovered that the company violated regulations related to asbestos, a known carcinogen that has been linked to a number of benign and malignant respiratory ailments.

The company, Rotation Dynamics, has been fined $53,937 by the state Department of Environmental Protection for asbestos violations that occurred in March of 2008. The incident that ultimately caused the company to face these fines occurred when a company employee used a forklift to move equipment with asbestos-containing insulation, and then left the asbestos-laden materials unsupervised in a parking lot.

According to agency inspectors, the asbestos in question was friable (meaning easily crumbled by hand pressure). Friable asbestos is the most likely to cause health problems in humans, as it is easy for the material to break down and become airborne. Asbestos exposure is conclusively linked to the development of mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer. Mesothelioma affects less than 3,000 Americans each year, and while there are palliative treatment methods available, including chemo, there is no known cure. The disease typically lies dormant for up to fifty years before an individual begins to suffer from mesothelioma symptoms, and the majority of patients lose their battle with this cancer in less than two years following diagnosis.

Rotation Dynamics was able to settle part of the fine. The DEP suspended $23,937 of the fine and Rotation Dynamics paid the remaining $30,000. The company was cited for improperly removing and handling asbestos-containing materials, improperly storing these materials, and allowing asbestos-containing materials to be handled in a manner not approved of by state authorities.