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For Release: (Washington, D.C. -- July 13, 2005
Enforcement Wrap-up
Contact: Stacie Keller, 202-564-4355 /
keller.stacie@epa.gov
Utah Restaurant Company Pleads Guilty to Clean Air Act
Violation
On June 28, Wilshire Restaurant Group, Inc., owner of Marie
Callender's
Pie Shops, Inc., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for
the District
of Utah to negligently releasing asbestos when the roof of
the Marie
Callender's restaurant in Midvale, Utah, was replaced. The
plea
agreement calls for the defendant to pay a $50,000 fine. In
1999, the
defendant's employees at the restaurant noticed the roof was
leaking and
took measures to temporarily repair it. In April 1999, the
company
received a bid for replacing the roof and for properly
disposing of its
asbestos underlayment. In May 1999, the company sought a
second bid,
but a company employee failed to tell the roofing company
that the
underlayment contained asbestos. This second bid was lower,
and the
company let the contract to the low bidder. As a result, the
asbestos
underlayment was removed without following federal workplace
standards
and asbestos fibers were released into the air. Releasing
asbestos into
the air and not following federal workplace standards can
lead to the
inhalation of asbestos fibers which is a cause of lung
cancer, a lung
disease known as "asbestosis" and mesothelioma, a cancer of
the chest
and abdominal cavities. The case was investigated by the
Salt Lake City
Office of EPA's Criminal Investigation Division. It is being
prosecuted
by the U.S. attorney's office for the District of
Utah.
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