NY building developer faces over $48K in proposed fines
Building developer State Assets LLC of Brooklyn, New York has been cited with 18 alleged safety violations following an inspection of the company’s building rehabilitation site in New Haven, Connecticut. The proposed fines total $48,100. The inspection was triggered by employee complaints, and the violations involved such things as improper asbestos removal, inadequate chemical hazard communication, fire and electrical hazards and lack of protective gear for the company’s employees.
An OSHA official noted that employees performing asbestos removal were working without the “basic safeguards” required for such work. The company failed to monitor asbestos levels in the air, did not seal off areas in which asbestos abatement was being performed and did not provide workers with necessary respirators and other protective gear.
OSHA determined that the failure to conduct asbestos monitoring was willful, which means that it signals “plain indifference to or intentional disregard for” worker health and safety. The other 17 citations were designated serious violations, indicating that the company knew or should have known about hazards that pose a significant risk of death or serious harm.
In the case of asbestos violations like those described above, the risk is that some unprotected workers eventually may develop lung cancer or mesothelioma, a form of cancer that is overwhelmingly associated with asbestos exposure. These diseases can take decades to appear.
For the full story, go to Occupational Health & Safety.
