The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has penalized National Restorations Systems Inc. $19,050 for asbestos violations uncovered at the Boston Common Garage in September 2010.

The Illinois-based company has a regional office in Mansfield that was hired as a subcontractor to conduct demolition and renovation activities at the Boston Common Garage, located on Charles Street in Downtown Boston.

National Restoration Systems will pay $9,500 of the penalty, and if it remains in compliance for a period of one year, MassDEP has agreed to suspend the remaining $9,550.

On Sept. 8, 2010, a city public safety official stopped a trailer that contained suspected asbestos-containing materials. The vehicle and trailer were instructed to return to the site and the materials in the trailer were sampled for the presence of asbestos. Tests would later reveal that samples of pipe-covering contained asbestos material. The company failed to submit notification to MassDEP prior to demolition, and also failed to conduct proper asbestos removal procedures. 

"The contractor failed to submit the required notification prior to demolition activities, which would have triggered the need for conducting removal actions to protect workers and the public’s health and safety," said Eric Worrall, acting director of MassDEP’s Northeast Regional Office in Wilmington. "This diligence of the city of Boston’s public safety officials and MassDEP’s asbestos staff halted the actions quickly to protect the public."