A man who allegedly posed as a certified asbestos inspector has been indicted for triggering an emergency asbestos incident.
The Colorado state grand jury said 45-year-old Michael Merit of Parker was hired by a demolition company to test for asbestos testing in mobile homes in Elizabeth.
The grand jury said Merit told the demolition company, the Resource Center, that he was a certified Colorado asbestos inspector in order to obtain a job with the company.
Merit worked for Resource Center between November 2007 and late January 2008. During his employment, he worked on testing of a mobile home park in Elizabeth, according to the indictment.
Instead of taking a bulk sample as he was supposed to do, Merit incorrectly took air samples and then falsified lab results stating no asbestos was present, the grand jury alleged.
According to the grand jury, the Resource Center demolished three mobile homes. But the Department of Public Health halted the demolition based on a tip from a citizen that the mobile homes contained asbestos.
The situation threatened “immediate and irreparable harm to the environment or the health and safety of individuals” not associated with the cleanup, the state said.
Howard Pankratz, The Denver Post
