Olivet Management LLC, a real estate development and management company, faces $2.3 million in proposed fines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
OSHA says the company exposed its own employees, as well as employees for 13 contractors, to asbestos and lead hazards during cleanup operations at the former Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center in Dover Plains, N.Y., prior to a tour of the site by potential investors.
“Olivet knew that asbestos and lead were present at this site, yet the company chose to ignore its responsibility to protect its own workers and contractors,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. “The intolerable choice this company made put not only workers, but also their families, in danger.”
OSHA determined that Olivet knowingly failed to take basic safety precautions and did not inform their own employees or contractors about the presence of asbestos and lead, despite knowing that both hazards existed. OSHA says the workers were exposed during removal of asbestos- and lead-contaminated debris, asbestos floor tiles and insulation, and lead paint from walls, windows, door frames, and other painted surfaces.
Olivet, OSHA alleges, did not: monitor workers’ exposure levels; provide appropriate respiratory protection; nor post notices, warning signs and labels to alert workers and contractors to the presence of asbestos and lead. The company also did not provide clean changing and decontamination areas for workers, many of whom wore their contaminated clothing home to households with small children, OSHA says.
In January, the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration ordered Olivet to stop all work that could disturb asbestos at the facility; and it is continuing to investigate the case.
(https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=25812)
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Sep 6, 2018
Coalition of mayors around the globe pledge net-zero buildings by 2030
New construction to produce as much energy as it consumes.
Codes and Standards | Sep 5, 2018
New White Paper on Metal Panel Fire Safety Released
Has detailed information for insulation, fire safety requirements in U.S., other countries.
Codes and Standards | Aug 31, 2018
Trade war could make adaptive reuse more attractive
Higher cost of building materials could make rehab a better financial bet.
Codes and Standards | Aug 30, 2018
Metrics should guide strategy for schools seeking LEED certification
Assessing current status helps direct where improvements can have greatest impact.
Codes and Standards | Aug 29, 2018
The 2018 IAPMO solar and swimming pool codes now available
For installation and inspection of public and private swimming pools, spas, and hot tubs.
Codes and Standards | Aug 28, 2018
New York’s green roof program needs reform
Despite incentives, few owners add vegetative roofs.
Codes and Standards | Aug 24, 2018
Resilience, sustainability emphasized in plans for new 23,000-acre city in the Philippines
“A backup for when Manila fails.”
Codes and Standards | Aug 23, 2018
Cities promote deconstruction of old homes with mixed results
Market factors complicate efforts to recycle material from old structures.
Codes and Standards | Aug 22, 2018
Oregon is first state to change building code to allow tall mass timber buildings
Statewide alternate method allows early technical consideration and approval.
Codes and Standards | Aug 21, 2018
First mass timber panel made from structural composite lumber gets APA certification
Said to be much more cost effective than CLT options.