BOSTON — Marion-based Franklin Analytical Services, Inc, an environmental services company, and its owners have been indicted on 98 counts in connection with worker safety violations and illegal asbestos work, announced Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell on Wednesday, April 5.

Owners Thomas J. McCoog, Sr. and Amy Franklin McCoog, both of Marion, were indicted by a statewide grand jury on 32 counts each of violating the Massachusetts Clean Air Act, reported the Attorney General’s Office.

The Attorney General’s Office alleges that the defendants conducted illegal asbestos work at the former industrial and construction sites in New Bedford, Fall River, Dartmouth, and North Andover, and illegally transported uncovered asbestos waste through Brockton, West Bridgewater and Bridgewater while en route to illegally dispose of asbestos waste at a recycling center in Stoughton.

The company and Thomas McCoog were also charged with one count each of reckless assault and battery causing serious bodily injury after an alleged workplace incident where an asbestos worker fell several stories through a roof after being repeatedly denied protective safety equipment, reported the Attorney General’s Office

The company and its owners will be arraigned on the charges in Bristol Superior Court, Essex Superior Court, Norfolk Superior Court, and Plymouth Superior Court at a later date.

Asbestos is a hazardous material and known human carcinogen regulated under the Clean Air Act. It is used as fire proofing in a wide variety of building materials, from roofing and flooring, to siding and wallboard, to caulking and insulation. 

This case is being handled by Assistant Attorney General David Wittenberg and Assistant Attorney General Laila Atta, both of the AG’s Environmental Crimes Strike Force Division, with assistance from other state agencies.