DOI's Investigation into Asbestos Safety Regulation Governing Certified Asbestos Investigators (CAIs)
Department of Investigation · report
DOI reviewed the process by which privately-hired Certified Asbestos Investigators (CAIs) conduct and document asbestos inspections (on a form called an ACP-5) required before the Department of Buildings issues a construction permit. DOI found that the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Buildings were exposed to fraud by dishonest CAIs due to gaps in procedure and a lack of communication between the two agencies. DOI made additional recommendations to DEP and DOB, building on its 2018 report, including advance notice of inspections, prompt ACP-5 filing, more auditors, and integration of the two agencies' databases.
- Released
- 2023-12-14
- Kind
- Investigation
Key findings
- DEP does not require CAIs to give advance notice of the date, time, and place of inspections, so DEP cannot conduct site visits to confirm that certified CAIs are actually on site and conducting or supervising inspections. p. 5
- DEP imposes no time limit on ACP-5 submissions, and CAIs often submit them several months to a year after the inspection, leaving DEP unable to confirm whether site conditions match what the ACP-5 reports. p. 5
- DOB does not confirm with DEP that the ACP-5s it receives are consistent with those filed with DEP, and DOB plan examiners lack ready access to DEP's ACP-5 database, so fraudulent ACP-5s with fabricated or mismatched control numbers can be submitted to DOB to expedite permits. p. 9
- DEP's Asbestos Control Program is staffed by eight inspectors and audits only about eight to nine percent of the roughly 5,000 ACP-5s it receives monthly; DEP has said auditing ten percent would provide more appropriate oversight. p. 6
- In a 2022 DOI investigation, a DOB-licensed filing representative submitted almost eighty ACP-5s using forged signatures and seals of several CAIs, certifying inspections that had not been conducted. p. 11
- In 2021, following a DOI investigation, the State Attorney General charged three CAIs for submitting fraudulent ACP-5s; all three pled guilty to misdemeanor charges, paid fines or penalties, and lost their CAI licenses. p. 8
What DOI recommended
- DEP should require CAIs to file advance notice of the date, time, and exact address of inspections related to DOB permitting, at least one week ahead. p. 13
- DEP should conduct on-site visits at a sampling of scheduled inspections to confirm licensed CAIs are present, and require CAIs to certify on the ACP-5 that they were on site for the entire inspection. p. 14
- DEP should require ACP-5s to be filed promptly after a CAI's scheduled inspection, with the specific timeframe set by DEP. p. 14
- DEP should increase staffing in the Asbestos Control Program so inspectors can audit at least ten percent of ACP-5s submitted monthly. p. 14
- DOB and DEP should integrate their computer databases so that an ACP-5 filed with DEP automatically populates DOB's database, and should execute their proposed two-phase data-sharing plan as soon as possible. p. 14
Entities in this report
- Department of Environmental Protection Subject
- Department of Buildings Subject
- New York State Department of Health
- New York State Attorney General
- New York County District Attorney's Office
- Queens County District Attorney's Office
- Richmond County District Attorney's Office