Asbestos lawyers for the developer and supervisor of a renovation project at the Equitable Building in Des Moines, Iowa, say charges against their client should be dropped because the federal government failed to heed its own testing procedures on material removed from the building in 2007, the Des Moines Register reports.
Bob Knapp and Russell Coco were each indicted by a federal grand jury in February on 11 counts of violating the U.S. Clean Air Act for their roles in the renovation of the building, the news provider said. Prosecutors allege that the developer and supervisor knowingly placed removed asbestos materials into dumpsters and improperly disposed of it in landfills during renovations to make part of the building into high-end condominiums, according to the Register.
But defense lawyers, in a recently filed 15-page brief, argued that the government's case is flawed because investigators failed to use a test for measuring asbestos content that is specified in the criminal statutes. The lawyers say the government instead used a different test that is not allowed under the law.
In the brief, the lawyers say "there is no evidence to establish whether or not the material removed from the Equitable Building contained a sufficient amount of asbestos to be subject to the regulation under the Clean Air Act."
According to the American Cancer Society, asbestos exposure is the main risk factor for developing mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer.
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