A Geelong man is one of two people to be fined after being caught by a multi-agency operation with a trailer load of asbestos taken from a house in Torquay.
Geelong man Peter Stuart Ranton, 53, and Ballarat man Jason David Kilday, 52, pleaded guilty in Geelong Magistrates’ Court on charges of causing or allowing the transporting of reportable priority waste without the appropriate EPA registration.
The charges followed an investigation involving police, the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) and EPA Victoria, after the two men were seen removing asbestos from a house in Torquay in September 2021.
This article contains features which are only available in the web versionTake me there
At the time Kilday was advertised on the Jim’s Asbestos Removal website as a licensed asbestos removalist, despite the fact that neither he nor Ranton were licensed to do the job.
Police then intercepted the car towing the asbestos in a trailer that was not registered and without the appropriate EPA permission to transport the asbestos.
EPA’s Environmental Crime Branch investigators then worked with DEECA officers to trace the hazardous load.
Last month, Ranton was convicted and fined $2000 and ordered to pay $2086 in court costs to the EPA.
Kilday was fined $4000 without conviction and was also ordered to pay $2086 in costs.
EPA Southwest regional manager Carolyn Francis said badly handled asbestos was hazardous to people’s health.
Loading embed…
“There is strong regulation of asbestos because it is so common in older buildings, vehicles and other items produced before the hazards were known,” Ms Francis said.
“The licensing of trained removalists, the requirement to have an EPA registration to transport asbestos and the strong controls on facilities that accept asbestos waste are parts of a system designed to safely remove, transport and dispose of asbestos.
“In this case, the system designed to protect the community had been bypassed.”
The EPA website has a range of information for businesses and homeowners on managing, removing and disposing of asbestos: epa.vic.gov.au/for-business/find-a-topic/asbestos
This article contains features which are only available in the web versionTake me there