A business owner in South Carolina has pleaded guilty to faking lab results relating to asbestos clearance certificates, according to federal officials.
The man completed asbestos testing on a residential building at a university campus twice and declared it asbestos-free when in fact, it contained more than 3,600 square feet of asbestos.
Brian Rogers, the owner of Rogers Environmental, had legal proceedings brought against him by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina, for violations of the Clean Air Act.
Rogers admitted to digitally altering the lab results and manipulating his 2018 asbestos report. His attorney explained that he “acknowledged his mistake but noted that this was a very complicated project and he never had full access to the property like the subsequent company did.”
Rogers’ company was hired by a sub-contractor to undertake the asbestos reporting for the campus and noted that no asbestos was found. Subsequently, the building was demolished because it was believed to be asbestos-free.
More than a month after the first inspection, the sub-contractor was removing bathroom floors, and workers discovered material they believed to contain asbestos. Rogers inspected the site and declared it asbestos-free.
The sub-contractor ordered their own inspection and found asbestos. A new building inspection company was hired and found close to 3,620 square feet of asbestos.
Rogers admitted that his initial lab report had found 20% white asbestos, which he manipulated to say “none detected”.
The presiding judge on the case sentenced Rogers to three years of probation and ordered him to pay a $25,500 fine. His solicitor noted that he was “ashamed, embarrassed and apologetic about his conduct in this matter, and he is working to achieve total rehabilitation so that he never again becomes involved in criminal activity.” He has relinquished his asbestos consultant license.