April 7th, 2011
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Author: An Ohio hotel company will pay Wisconsin $80,000 after admitting to mishandling asbestos during the renovation of a hotel and conference center near the Milwaukee airport.
asbestos
The hotelier, Indus Hotels of Columbus, Ohio, oversaw a $14 million renovation of the Ramada Inn and Conference Center, 6401 S. 13th St., in 2008. The overhaul created what is now the Crowne Plaza Milwaukee Airport Hotel.
During the early stages of the renovation, according to the complaint filed by Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, day laborers were hired to strip out plumbing fixtures, drywall, carpets and furniture in one wing of the hotel.
The laborers were also instructed to scrape 250 square feet of asbestos-containing material off of ceilings in the hotel despite warnings from inspectors hired by Indus and its local affiliate, Amana Hospitality, that the decorative material contained asbestos fibers.
The complaint says the work was done by “unlicensed and untrained workers who were not using protective clothing or water to limit asbestos emissions.”
Shortly thereafter, the City of Milwaukee, after an inspection by the Department of Neighborhood Services, ordered the renovators to commission a more thorough inspection of the hotel for asbestos fibers before proceeding.
But according to the complaint, workers later removed ceiling panels containing asbestos from the hotel’s pool area without inspecting them or taking proper precautions.
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