Sentencing of County Worker Postponed for the Second Time
The judgment of an illegal asbestos removal case has been put off bye the federal court.
This is the second time that the sentencing of the Cayuga County worker convicted in the illegal removal of asbestos from a county building is getting postponed.
Asbestos is the name given to a group of six different fibrous minerals that occur naturally in some rocks and soil and that can be separated into fibers. Though asbestos uses established before that date are still allowed, all new uses of asbestos in the United States were banned in July 1989 because of health concerns. Asbestos is a human carcinogen which can cause cancer of the lungs, the membrane of the lungs, stomach, esophagus, colon, rectum, vocal cords, and kidneys. Repeated exposure to high levels of asbestos in the workplace can asbestosis, a disease that can scar the lungs, cause the heart to enlarge and lead to disability and death; and mesothelioma, a rare type of cancer of the mesothelium, the membrane that covers and protects most of the internal organs of the body. For this reason, only a licensed expert is supposed to carry out asbestos abatement jobs.
The County worker John Chick, who had been scheduled to be sentenced at 2 p.m. Thursday, July 5, in front of U.S. District Court Judge Frederick J. Scullin Jr., has to wait now for some other time.
Mr Chick, a county carpenter, has been suspended from his job after the issue.
The judgment was delayed after a request of the government. The original sentencing date scheduled was June 5.
Chick said that he was merely following orders when he oversaw the displacement of asbestos from the county board of elections building in February 2006. He has requested that he be spared prison time.
