TUMWATER — Two Vancouver business owners are facing a combined $116,000 in fines for ignoring rules to protect workers, neighbors, and the environment from exposure to hazardous asbestos at a home-flipping site.
The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) issued the citations in December after receiving a referral from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA stated the owner of NW Quality Flooring LLC falsified lab results in an attempt to dump asbestos-containing construction debris from a house he was renovating.
Asbestos is extremely harmful, and exposure can lead to diseases such as mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer. Only a certified asbestos abatement contractor may remove and dispose of building materials containing asbestos…