(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The Illinois Attorney General is suing a Waukegan hospital for alleged improper handling and removal of asbestos.
The lawsuit from Attorney General Kwame Raoul comes after a federal investigation that found three dozen violations were committed in the demolition of the former Lake Behavioral Hospital.
The lawsuit says the hospital's owners initiated demolition without giving the required notice and after handling asbestos-containing material without a trained on-site representative.
The complaint also alleges the hospital's owners failed to properly inspect for asbestos before beginning demolition activities and properly dispose of materials containing asbestos.
“The owners and operators of Lake Behavioral Hospital and the contractors they hired for this demolition have jeopardized public health by exposing people to dangerous materials containing asbestos,” Raoul said in a released statement.
“The asbestos must be remediated, and I am committed to ensuring that the defendants are held accountable for creating this hazard and for preventing any further harm to the public’s health and the environment.”
Demolition activity stopped in November of last year. At the time of the complaint, one building has been fully demolished, another partially demolished and work on a third had yet to begin.
The Attorney General seeks an agreed interim order requiring the companies involved to submit a plan to decontaminate the site and safely finish demolition.
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