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Department of Justice Asbestos Restitution Project

Construction Personnel Incorporated (CPI) operated in Chattanooga, TN, and Denver, CO from 1997 to 2000. The company also operated in Baton Rouge, LA as Service Management Incorporated. CPI recruited and employed undocumented workers from Valle de Santiago, Guanajuato, Mexico, to work in construction and demolition at various asbestos removal sites in the three cities.

Facts Summary

According to the Department of Justice (DoJ) settlement documents, CPI falsified workers certifications for:

  • Health
  • Physical Examinations
  • Respirator Fit Testing, and
  • Asbestos Training Records

As a result of these practices, the workers may have been exposed to asbestos. They may have also exposed their household contacts by bringing home asbestos fibers on their clothes and bodies.

In December 2002, CPI officials pled guilty to multiple felony counts. CPI was put out of operation and the owners and recruiter were prosecuted and served time in federal prison.

Resolution

Department of Justice asked the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a federal public health agency, to develop and implement a health education and promotion program for the former workers who may have been exposed to asbestos while working for CPI. ATSDR is working with local, state, and other federal agencies to inform former workers and their household contacts of possible exposure to asbestos, and to provide information for healthcare providers in the three cities.

Updated: January 12th, 2006
Questions? - Call the ATSDR Information Center toll free at 1-888-422-8737, or e-mail