Kroger and its renovation contractor, SSI Services LLC, have agreed to pay $108,000 to resolve an Illinois Attorney General lawsuit over asbestos exposure at a Taylorville grocery store. The case traces back to a renovation that left chipped, asbestos-containing floor tiles in areas shoppers and employees walked through while the store stayed open.
Not a demolition. An active grocery store. That’s the piece that drew regulators.
What Happened in the Taylorville Store
The store sits at 201 East Bidwell Street in Taylorville, a city of about 11,000 in central Illinois. SSI Services — an Indianapolis-based contractor — was doing renovation work for Kroger inside the open store during summer 2022.
According to the Attorney General’s complaint, workers broke up floor tiles and mastic (the adhesive beneath the tiles) that contained asbestos. The materials weren’t removed properly beforehand. They weren’t kept wet to suppress fiber release. And broken pieces were left in areas the public could access.
On July 29, 2022, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency issued a seal order to shut the affected areas down and protect public health. That order led to a referral to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, which filed suit on August 15, 2022.
The Allegations
The complaint hit three core NESHAP (National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants) violations:
Failed to remove the floor tiles and mastic before doing work that would break or dislodge them. Failed to keep the asbestos-containing material wet during handling, which is how airborne fiber release gets suppressed. Failed to properly contain and dispose of the waste.
None of these are exotic requirements. They’re the baseline rules for any renovation that touches asbestos-containing building materials, which covers most commercial buildings constructed before 1980.
“This settlement holds Kroger and SSI Services accountable for jeopardizing the public’s health by exposing shoppers and employees to dangerous materials containing asbestos,” Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in announcing the deal. “I remain committed to protecting Illinois residents from those who would jeopardize their health, safety and the environment.”
Illinois EPA Director John J. Kim, whose agency issued the seal order and referred the case, said the referral was about ensuring proper remediation “prior to reopening for the safety of the employees and customers.”
Why This Case Is Different From a Worker Exposure Case
Most asbestos enforcement and litigation focuses on occupational exposure — construction workers, steamfitters, shipbuilders, mechanics. Taylorville is a public exposure case. Shoppers buying groceries walked past broken, friable asbestos-containing tile. Store employees worked around it for days.
There’s no identified mesothelioma diagnosis tied to this exposure. That’s typical. Mesothelioma has a latency period of 20 to 60 years, meaning any case linked to the 2022 exposure wouldn’t surface until the 2040s or later. Public health enforcement doesn’t wait for a diagnosis. It acts on the exposure event itself.
That’s why the penalty here, $108,000, sits in a very different bucket than the tort verdicts that come out of Cook County courtrooms against the same building materials and products. Illinois mesothelioma verdicts have topped $45 million when the exposure causes disease. Enforcement actions over improper abatement run smaller but move much faster.
The Rules That Govern Renovations Like This One
Federal NESHAP asbestos rules require any owner or operator of a commercial renovation to inspect for asbestos-containing materials before work begins. If the materials are there, they must be removed by trained, licensed abatement workers using wet methods, sealed containment, and proper disposal.
Illinois adds its own layer. The Illinois Environmental Protection Act gives the Illinois EPA authority to issue emergency seal orders when ongoing activity creates a public health risk, and gives the Attorney General’s Office civil enforcement authority for violations.
Grocery stores, big-box retailers, and older commercial properties are routine targets of this kind of enforcement. Most of the time, the work gets done right. When it doesn’t, cases like Taylorville are the result.
Recent Illinois Asbestos Enforcement and Litigation
| Case | Outcome | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kroger / SSI (Taylorville) | $108K penalty | AG enforcement | 2026 |
| Whitehouse v. J&J | $45.5M verdict | Tort (mesothelioma) | 2025 |
| Cook County historical mesothelioma docket | Ongoing | Tort | — |
| Illinois asbestos trust fund claims | Varies by trust | Trust claim | — |
Illinois has one of the country’s largest asbestos litigation dockets, concentrated in Cook, Madison, and St. Clair counties. Workers injured decades ago in steel mills, refineries, and power plants continue to file claims under both tort law and available Illinois asbestos trust funds.
What This Means for People Who Shopped at the Taylorville Store
A single short exposure to airborne asbestos fibers is not a typical mesothelioma risk profile. The disease usually develops after years of occupational exposure. But there is no safe threshold, and the Illinois EPA’s seal order reflected that principle: if there is friable asbestos in a public space, the exposure risk is unacceptable regardless of duration.
Anyone who worked at the store during the 2022 renovation period and has respiratory symptoms or concerns should document their employment and speak with a physician. Symptoms of asbestos-related disease include shortness of breath, persistent cough, chest pain, and unexplained weight loss — and they typically don’t show up for decades.
What did Kroger and SSI Services do wrong?▼
According to the Illinois Attorney General, they left broken asbestos-containing floor tiles in areas accessible to the public during a store renovation, failed to keep the material wet to suppress fiber release, and failed to properly remove or dispose of the asbestos waste.
How much did they pay?▼
$108,000 in civil penalties, split between Kroger and SSI Services, plus completion of all required asbestos remediation under Illinois EPA oversight before the store reopened.
Can shoppers sue over the Taylorville exposure?▼
Short-duration public exposure cases are difficult to tie to a mesothelioma diagnosis, which has a latency period of 20 to 60 years. People who worked at the store during the renovation period have a different profile and should document employment history and monitor for symptoms.
Is Kroger facing other asbestos enforcement actions?▼
This is the case that went public in Illinois. Large retail and grocery chains regularly handle renovations of older buildings, and asbestos enforcement referrals happen when those renovations don’t follow NESHAP rules. The Illinois case does not establish a pattern on its own.
What rules govern commercial building renovations with asbestos?▼
Federal NESHAP asbestos rules (40 CFR Part 61, Subpart M) require pre-renovation inspection, proper notification, licensed abatement workers, wet methods, sealed containment, and controlled disposal. Illinois adds seal-order authority through the Illinois Environmental Protection Act.
References
WAND-TV. Kroger, contractor reach settlement over asbestos exposure in Taylorville store.
https://www.wandtv.com/news/illinois/kroger-contractor-reach-settlement-over-asbestos-exposure-in-taylorville-store/article_4cc5164c-a6f2-4499-b03a-71be240b3b12.html
WAND-TV (original 2022 filing coverage). Attorney General files lawsuit against Kroger and SSI Services over asbestos in Taylorville store.
https://www.wandtv.com/news/attorney-general-files-lawsuit-against-kroger-and-ssi-services-over-asbestos-in-taylorville-store/article_6ef80038-1cc3-11ed-948c-9fc143e45d13.html
Illinois Attorney General's Office. Kroger and SSI Complaint with Exhibits (file-stamped 8/12/22).
https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/pressroom/2022_08/Kroger%20and%20SSI%20Complaint%20with%20Exhibits%2081222%20File%20Stamped.pdf
EPA. Asbestos NESHAP (National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants), 40 CFR Part 61, Subpart M.
https://www.epa.gov/asbestos/asbestos-neshap
National Cancer Institute. Asbestos Exposure and Cancer Risk.
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/substances/asbestos/asbestos-fact-sheet