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The federal court Monday charged Hulsing Hotels Missouri Inc with a fine of $300,000 for illegal removal of asbestos materials during building renovations at the Clarion Hotel, 11823 NW Plaza Circle.
Dan Hulsing, who appeared in court on behalf of Hulsing Hotels, pleaded guilty to violation of the Clean Air Act and agreed to the fine. Hulsing was the superintendent of the building renovation project.
$100,000 was paid by the company yesterday and will pay another $100,000 within one year. Apart from this, an agreement with the state about the pending 100,000 is being finalized.
The inquiry was based on an anonymous call received by the Kansas City Air Quality Program last year. Kansas City Health Department Inspectors found workers removing asbestos as part of construction and renovation work. Hulsing was questioned and he admitted that he wasn't trained to remove asbestos. He also agreed that no asbestos abatement contractor had participated in the renovation project, the court documents say.
According to the documents, the renovation project was going on for 60 days without following Clean Air Act guidelines. Construction labourers, hotel employees and guests had occupied the building while the job was going on.
According to the Clean Air Act, asbestos should be removed from buildings before constructions starts.
Granta Nakayama, assistant administrator of enforcement and compliance assurance for the Environmental Protection Agency, said that hotel guests deserve to breathe clean and safe air as they pay for comfort.
"Today's guilty plea should be a reminder to other hotel chains that renovations must be done carefully and legally," Nakayama added.
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