The New York Department of Environmental Protection says that it plans to increase its efforts to effectively audit toxic substance reports as a result of a recently uncovered incident. Saverio Todaro, a formerly licensed new York City safety inspector and the owner of SAF Environmental Corp, plead guilty on March 26th to eleven separate felonies related to falsifying asbestos and lead testing results.

It’s believed that Todaro had been fraudulently completing toxic substance reports for more than a decade, and that his reports may have given more than two hundred building owners the documentation they needed to proceed with their projects without awarding expensive toxic substance abatement contracts. Investigating officials are concerned that Todaro may have been motivated by direct or indirect compensation by the building’s owners who would benefit from clean test results.

Removing toxic substances prior to demolishing or renovating a building is an important process not only for the welfare of the workers involved, but also for the health of the general public. Many buildings constructed during the last century contain a variety of toxic materials such as lead or asbestos which could pose a serious threat to the health of those exposed to it.

Asbestos particularly is a cause for worry in these cases. Asbestos exposure has long been connected with the development of mesothelioma, an aggressive and terminal cancer of the tissue lining the lungs and abdominal region. Many asbestos products can easily crumble or break apart, releasing microscopic fibers into the air that can then be accidentally inhaled by workers or passersby.

Asbestos abatement often constitutes an expensive portion of renovation costs for buildings constructed before the latter end of the twentieth century. An ongoing investigation hopes to uncover whether Todaro acted alone out of negligence and without any potential monetary gain or, whether the crime was more sordid in nature. “Todaro’s guilty plea is not the end of the story,” said the Manhattan U.S. attorney, “this investigation is very much ongoing.”

The ease with which Saverio presented false documents to various agencies of the city of New York came as a cold awakening to many officials. New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Buildings, and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development were all deceived for some ten years by Todaro’s fraudulent activity. “It’s the tip of the iceberg,” said one official briefed on the matter. “We just don’t know how big the iceberg is.”

Todaro Saverio is currently free on bail, but he will could face more than five years of prison for his crimes. While that may serve as a deterrent for other safety inspectors considering falsifying documents in return for bribes or other favors, it doesn’t change the fact that only a tiny fraction of asbestos tests performed by licensed inspectors are actually audited by the city. The New York Department of Environmental Protection says in coming years, they hope to change all that.

(Mesothelioma Watch, 10/05/2010)