Portland church fined following asbestos regulations

An incident at a church in Portland, Oregon has resulted in heavy fines over asbestos violations. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has levied fines totaling $12,158 against northeast Portland’s Our Lady of La Vang Catholic Church. DEQ officials say that the asbestos incident took place just weeks ago during a repair project at the aging church.

According to local sources, workers were in the midst of repairing a boiler at the church (which involved removing asbestos-containing insulation) when the incident took place. A full asbestos survey identifying the asbestos-containing material had been conducted at the church several years ago, meaning workers and church officials should have known not to disturb the asbestos-containing material near the boiler.

Workers damaged the asbestos-containing insulation during the process, which released dangerous asbestos dust and fibers into the air. According to officials with the EPA, there is no safe level of asbestos exposure. Inhalation of these fibers has long been known to cause serious health problems, and can ultimately prove fatal in some instances. Among the most serious health problems caused by asbestos exposure are lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis.

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. DEQ officials told reporters that they also cited the church for storing asbestos-containing trash and debris on church property, rather than taking it to an appropriate waste disposal facility.