The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) has cited a construction company and its manager for asbestos-related violations and imposed fines of almost $2 million. Safety regulators are increasingly taking asbestos violations very seriously.
OSHA inspectors determined that the company and some of its supervisors told employees to remove asbestos-containing materials during renovation of a school. Many of the employees were temporary foreign workers whose first language was not English. OSHA's investigation also found that management threatened some workers with termination if they spoke with OSHA inspectors.
Further, OSHA inspectors found that the manager and the companies failed to warn employees of the danger, even though they were aware of the asbestos hazard. Further, they did not ensure that the workers used appropriate work methods and respirators, and did not train them on the hazards of working around asbestos.
The company and manager had 15 days to appeal to the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
OHSA's News Release can be accessed here.
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