As Mr. Van Raalte testified, the code gives the employer two options either test it or assume it contains asbestos. The employer did not perform any testing or analysis of the material to be removed in the remodeling project. The defendant employer is responsible for the violations for which citations were issued. This was an old building which was being remodeled inside. The owner had contracted with Spartan Insulation Services to remove asbestos from certain areas.
Any reliance placed upon that document by defendant employer is misplaced.
That employee a carpenter advised Mr. Van Raalte that defendant employer had removed the pipe the evening before. As the photos contained in Exhibit 9 demonstrate, there was considerable debris remaining. During what would normally have been classified as closing argument, Mrs. Labenske testified that defendant employer did not know who removed the pipe couldn't find out and that they had not done it. Exhibit 11 reveals that the building owner was also cited and fined. After giving consideration to all the evidence, I conclude defendant employer is responsible for the asbestos violations.