(WHAS11) - A garbage removal company has been ordered to get rid of asbestos that has been sitting in its lot for months; a possible violation of EPA regulations.
The reason?
The company has gone out of business because the owner ended up in jail.
According to sources, the trash has been sitting in the company’s back lot for more than half a year.
Local residents have been upset about opossums living in the garbage and roaming the neighborhood.
But it was something much more dangerous inside at least one of the dumpsters that concerned local air pollution control officials.
The overflowing garbage at “A Cheap Dumpster Company” has nowhere to go.
The Outer Loop Landfill won't take it, since the company quit paying its bills.
And garbage has been piling up since the company's owner has been locked up.
“Since like around the middle part of the summer, that's when the animals started coming in a whole lot,” said Roxann Barnett, who lives in the neighborhood next to the business.
In July, Jonathan Davies was arrested on federal child pornography charges.
Davies allegedly used hidden pinhole cameras to take nude photos and videos of a 14-year-old girl, which were discovered on his computer.
Davies owns several companies, including C.R.S. Demolition which tore down a Chevron warehouse facility in Old Louisville just before he went to jail.
Some of the debris from the project, including asbestos, was stored on his lot.
The Louisviille Metro Air Pollution Control Board was made aware of it last week.
“Unless we get a complaint on it, what we're looking for is bits of insulation, stuff like that,” said LMAPCB spokesperson Matt Stull.
While the material was double bagged and sealed, federal regulations say that if any part of the asbestos were to become exposed, it could harm neighbors.
“Any materials containing asbestos is a concern because of it s link to lung cancer,” said Stull. “So we take all of these complaints very seriously.”
“I have two little kids. It's scary to me,” said neighbor Brittany Cambron.
Roxann Barnett worries about her older mother.
“She has lung problems and health problems breathing. She takes a lot of medication,” Barnett said.
Officials say all of the known asbestos has now been taken to a certified landfill facility.
As for the rest of the trash, what happens is anyone's guess.
We called A Cheap Dumpster Company's phone number earlier today and someone answered, but the person said the company is no longer in business.
A court hearing for Davies has been scheduled for February 26th.
