Ship Repair Firm Pleads Guilty in Asbestos Case
The U.S. attorney announced Tuesday that a San Diego ship repair company pleaded guilty to violating the federal Clean Air Act when its employees illegally removed asbestos from the aircraft carrier Ranger.
The company, Pacific Ship Repair & Fabrication Inc., pleaded guilty at a pretrial disposition May 13 to improperly removing asbestos from the ship.
But, at the request of federal Magistrate Roger McKee, details of the arrangement were not made public until the conclusion of last week’s jury trial that involved the company’s owner, David Bain, and a company foreman, David Blalock.
Last Friday, Bain was acquitted and Blalock was found responsible for inadequate handling of asbestos, an insulating material that is a known carcinogen.
The fine for Pacific Ship Repair will be determined during a hearing this July. The company could be fined up to $25,000.
“I am satisfied that justice was been done,” said Assistant U.S. Atty. Melanie Pierson. “We got two out of three.”
But lawyer Peter Hughes, who represented Pacific Ship, said the company was unfairly being held responsible for the wrongful actions of an employee, Blalock.
“No matter how careful a company is, if they take explicit steps, under the environmental case law, the company can still be held liable,” Hughes said. “It’s unbelievable.”
The improper removal of asbestos aboard the Ranger was a violation of safety standards and led to emission of asbestos fibers into the air, Pierson said. The company failed to notify the Environmental Protection Agency of the removal work, as required by law, she said.
Asbestos, banned in 1979 for most construction purposes, can cause cancer and asbestosis, a fatal lung aliment. Experts say that asbestos is dangerous if it is inhaled into the lungs, where even one microscopic fiber can cause a fatal disease.
Pacific Ship Repair was hired to remove asbestos aboard the Ranger when it was docked at Pier L at North Island Naval Air Station from September, 1989, to March, 1990.
Workers removed more than 1,100 feet of piping covered with insulation. More than 260 feet of the insulation removed by Pacific Ship Repair workers was friable asbestos, or material that was dry and could easily crumble, emitting fibers into the air.
Last summer, workers aboard the Ranger alleged that they had removed asbestos with their hands and frequently did not wear protective gear, such as masks.
For Bain, the recent proceedings are the first round of what could be a more lengthy legal battle. In November, Bain and nine others were indicted on 32 counts that included allegations of embezzling $1.4 million from Pacific Ship’s employee profit-sharing plan, theft of $1 million in an overpayment by the Navy, various income tax violations and making illegal campaign contributions to candidates for federal office.
