Whistleblower: Asbestos costs family now and maybe later

Fearing for her family's health, Sherene O'Hern hastily left her apartment on May 16 with her fiance and their 2-year-old son. When she returned a few days later, she was wearing a full body protective suit, goggles and a respirator.

A botched furnace replacement project commissioned by the landlords had released flakes of asbestos from old pipe insulation, contaminating the basement and potentially O'Hern's ground floor unit with the cancer-causing fibers. As a result, the duplex at 4917-19 Vincent Av. S. in Minneapolis became the site of an emergency asbestos cleanup and an investigation by the Minnesota Department of Health.

O'Hern didn't want to risk the possibility that asbestos fibers might cling to clothing or bedding or soft toys. So she sent half the family's possessions to the hazardous waste landfill. The lost goods filled 59 large plastic bags.

It's not clear whether anyone will compensate the family for their loss. They had no renter's insurance, the landlord's insurance company has denied liability and the owner of Ryan Plumbing and Heating, the company hired for the furnace job, accused O'Hern of overreacting.

O'Hern, 26, bristles at that suggestion. She can't stop thinking that her boy Kieran possibly inhaled asbestos before the family figured out what was going on. "The fact that he was here when it happened is horrible for us," she said.

A stay-at-home mom, O'Hern and her fiance -- Caleb Braaten-Lee, 29, who works for a snack and beverage supplier -- moved into the 1923-era stucco duplex in 2007, when Kieran was a baby. This spring, they bought a house in Bloomington and notified the landlords, George and Beverly Lillquist, that they were moving out May 31.

O'Hern knew that the Lillquists wanted to replace the duplex's two furnaces. So she didn't think anything of it when she heard workers banging away in the basement on May 15. The problem wasn't discovered until the following day, when Dave Gross, a family friend who is also a landlord and home renovator, stopped by the duplex for a visit.

Gross had seen the "giant old octopus furnace" before, and noticed the asbestos insulation all around. He also knew that the state has stringent guidelines for removing asbestos, which are designed to prevent the spread of the fibers, and that workers needed a state license to do it. When Gross looked in the basement, he didn't see any sign that the rules were followed.

"There was a trail of asbestos pieces and drippings going up the back stairs and out the door," O'Hern said. Even though they could see no asbestos in their apartment, they believed some of it could have wafted in. The family left the apartment that night.

State confirmation

The state health department confirmed Gross's suspicion: the workers, a subcontractor for Ryan Plumbing and Heating, had no permit to remove asbestos. Dan Miller, an industrial hygienist for the Minnesota Department of Health, said he couldn't talk in detail about the case, the health risk or what penalties the companies might face, because it's an "open investigation."

"Any time asbestos is disturbed, then there's a potential health risk," Miller said.

Under the state's guidance, a certified asbestos contractor, Twin Cities Abatement Technologies of South St. Paul, cleaned up the basement. In the process, the company bagged up and hauled away 13 bags of the family's possessions that were stored in the basement. O'Hern had her own apartment tested for asbestos, and when the substance was detected, their unit was vacuumed and wet-wiped. The Lillquists as the landlords and Ryan Plumbing paid for that cleanup.

Phone messages left for the Lillquists were not returned. Brian Kelly of Twin Cities Abatement Technologies said he felt the Lillquists were victims of a subcontractor that didn't follow the rules, and the landlords did what they needed to do to remedy the problem.

But O'Hern wasn't satisfied with the first cleanup. She paid $800 for a second cleaning, this one by Bergo Environmental Services of St. Louis Park. Because the hooklike asbestos fibers can get caught in porous items such as clothing, she made the tough decision to toss many of the family's possessions, including an heirloom sweater knitted by her grandmother that she hoped Kieran would soon wear.

"She was kind of caught in a situation that she wasn't comfortable with," said Jeff Bergo of Bergo Environmental. "She chose to do the safest thing."

That's not the view of Greg Ryan, owner of Ryan Plumbing and Heating in St. Paul. He wouldn't talk in detail about what happened, only saying that he subcontracted the work to a company he didn't name, and that the company apparently didn't get the required permit.

"My perspective is that those people are psychotic, and they're making a mountain out of a molehill," Ryan said.

O'Hern retorted: "What's the overreaction? That we just shouldn't care?"

The ordeal has cost O'Hern and Braaten-Lee several thousand dollars, "financially devastating" to a young family. Last month, they got a letter from the Lillquists' insurance company that detailed the cleanup actions and denied liability for any claims.

As they contemplate their next steps, O'Hern, Braaten-Lee and Gross wonder about whether their brief encounter with a toxic menace will come back to haunt them.

"For all we know, we all got exposed to asbestos," Gross said. "It's like getting shot with a bullet, only the bullet arrives 25 years later."

Need to remove asbestos?

The website of the Minnesota Department of Health's asbestos program (www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/asbestos/) has a wealth of information on the risks and rules of asbestos. Citizens can find a certified contractor and check to see whether a contractor is licensed. You can reach the agency at 651- 201-4620.