The state has sued a Wakefield company it says improperly removed boilers at a Newbury Street building without taking proper measures to keep asbestos insulation from escaping from the site.

The state Attorney General's office filed the suit Friday against Commonwealth Tank, Inc., which is not licensed for asbestos-related work for its actions in removing two large boilers from 361 Newbury St., at Massachusetts Ave., over a five-day period in the summer of 2014:

According to the complaint, the defendants did not comply with required asbestos abatement work practices, including failing to notify MassDEP about asbestos encasing the boilers, failing to use proper air filtration units, failing to contain the asbestos dust, and failing to wet the asbestos material during the removal. This illegal asbestos removal could have potentially exposed people accessing the building, passersby in a busy urban area, and workers to asbestos fibers.

The suit also alleges the company improperly disposed of hazardous wastes at its Wakefield facility.