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 | Oct 11, 2017
Data, transparency are keys to next steps in green building, says USGBC chief
Monitoring and comparing performance are critical to advancing sustainability goals.
Codes and Standards | Oct 10, 2017
New guidelines for quality control on application of membrane roof systems released
NRCA document provides guidance for on-site evaluation.
Codes and Standards | Oct 9, 2017
New app calculates maximum allowable heights for building occupancy types, classes of construction
The app streamlines compliance on various types of construction.
Codes and Standards | Oct 5, 2017
California lawmakers pass bill that requires GCs to pay wages of sub employees if subs fail to pay
The measure will go into effect in January if the governor signs it.
Codes and Standards | Oct 4, 2017
Ambitious but realistic increase in clean energy would cut GHG emissions by 80% in the U.S.
NRDC report says goal can be achieved with existing tools.
Codes and Standards | Oct 3, 2017
Reducing duct leakage is focus on latest green building standards updates
ASHRAE 189.1 broadens testing requirements to include more types of ducts.
Codes and Standards | Oct 2, 2017
Nationwide retrofit strategy in Canada could cut 51% of emissions from large buildings
The roadmap provides government and industry with a targeted plan.
Codes and Standards | Sep 28, 2017
Resources available for new OSHA respirable crystalline silica regulation
NRCA offers compliance tools for contractors.
Codes and Standards | Sep 28, 2017
New tool compares HVAC system efficiency
IAPMO and Hydronics Industry Alliance unveil BEST to evaluate systems in early design phase.
Codes and Standards | Sep 26, 2017
Anti-drone technology can ward off unauthorized drone flights
The technology can be used to prevent terrorist attacks and spying.
