Iowa DNR fines three for asbestos violations in Eastern Iowa

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has fined an Anamosa mobile home company and two men renovating a Lost Nation school for asbestos violations because of what the agency said was improper disposal of waste.

Kodiak Property Management and Fawn Creek MHC were fined $8,400 for demolishing several mobile homes at Fawn Creek Court, in Anamosa, in June 2022, without first testing for asbestos and then disposing of the waste improperly, according to enforcement actions the DNR published Thursday.

In the Clinton County town of Lost Nation, the DNR fined James Ziebell, of Maple Plain, Minn., and Chanchai Sooksawan, of Lost Nation, $10,000 each — the maximum administrative penalty the DNR may impose — for burying construction materials and tires on the grounds of a former school the men were renovating in October 2022, the DNR reported.

Lab tests of the buried materials showed they had asbestos concentrations of more than 1 percent, the order states.

Sooksawan and Ziebell “avoided the cost of proper removal of the floor tile in the building, including the costs of complying with the asbestos regulations,” the order states.

Asbestos was used in construction materials from the 1940s through 1970s as insulation and fire retardant. But breathing in asbestos fibers can increase the risk of cancer and other diseases, including mesothelioma. That’s why the DNR has regulations about how people dispose of asbestos waste from buildings.

In addition to the $10,000 penalties, Ziebell and Sooksawan are required to hire a permitted asbestos abatement company to supervise, remove and dispose of asbestos at the former school building site within 60 days. Before any further renovation, the men must hire a licensed asbestos inspector to inspect the site.

In the Anamosa case, Kodiak and Fawn Creek have agreed to pay the penalty and send at least one primary employee to a three-day asbestos inspector course and comply with all asbestos regulations in the future.

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