Demolition companies warned over dust emissions from house demolition.
City officials in Evansville have written two warning letters in the last several weeks to demolition contractors for failing to control dust stirred up while razing houses.
Dona Bergman, director of the Evansville Environmental Protection Agency, said crews hired for demolition work are expected to spray water on structures they knock down. That helps control dust, which is likely to contain particles of lead paint and other toxic substances if it is coming from old houses.
Bergman said workers from her office responded to the complaints immediately after learning of them. When they arrived at the demolition sites, they found no evidence of dust being stirred up, but did find the sites weren’t being wetted properly. So they issued warning letters.
“We have gone around and double-checked on those properties several times,” Bergman said. “And if we receive any other citizens’ complaints, we’ll get back out there and check on it.”
Bergman said the fine for breaking the rules starts at $50 a day for each violation and can rise as high as $7,500 a day for each violation. “Just the threat of that gets people’s attention,” she said.
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