In a stark reminder of workplace safety, New Jersey contractor Jose Correa has pleaded guilty to a serious environmental crime that endangered construction workers in East Harlem. During a supermarket renovation project in late 2022, Correa made a dangerous and illegal decision that could have had devastating consequences.
Showing posts with label asbestos removal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label asbestos removal. Show all posts
Friday, December 13, 2024
Friday, April 24, 2015
First Capital Insulation faces $490K in fines for willfully allowing unsafe asbestos removal
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| Workers safely remove asbestos. Source: OSHA.gov |
Three workers removing thermal pipe insulation at an unoccupied residence on North Second Street in Harrisburg were exposed to these serious risks because their employer failed to protect them properly.
U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors found that First Capital Insulation Inc. of York regularly exposed employees to asbestos hazards.
"Asbestos exposure can cause chronic lung disease and cancer. With the right safeguards, employees can be protected from these deadly hazards," said Kevin Kilp, director of OSHA's area office in Harrisburg. "We found employees removing insulation containing asbestos without first wetting the material, which reduces the danger of exposure. A little water could have made all the difference and the company knew this."
First Capital Insulation faces a $490,000 penalty for seven willful violations, including allowing workers to remove asbestos improperly; failing to make sure their employees' respirators fit correctly; and not decontaminating employees and their clothing before leaving the work site.
The clothing of workers who handle asbestos creates a significant risk for secondary exposure. Its microscopic particles can easily attach to hair, skin and clothes. If the worker and his clothing are not properly cleaned before leaving the work site, others with whom the worker has contact risk secondary exposure. A worker who fails to change out of asbestos-contaminated clothing before returning home can leave fibers embedded in couches, chairs, carpets, beds and other furniture.
OSHA requires employers to treat thermal system insulation and surfacing material found in buildings constructed before and in 1980 as asbestos, unless they can prove that the material is free of asbestos. In this inspection, the building was built in 1928, and the company made no attempt to test the removed materials.
To read the citations, visit http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/FirstCapitalInsulationInc_1002754_0420_15.pdf*.
First Capital Insulation is an environmental services company. It provides asbestos, lead abatement and insulation installation services. The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
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Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author of NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson-Reuters). For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
NJ Contractor Sentenced By Federal Court for Illegal Asbestos Removal
Asbestos continues to be a major health concern. The known cancer causing substance that was manufactured and installed decades ago in the US, and still not banned, continues as a significant health threat. The Federal Government continues to vigoriously enforce safety regulations for the removal of asbestos fiber.
A Bergen County, N.J., man was sentenced today to three years of probation, including six months of home confinement, for conspiring to violate the federal Clean Air Act by improperly removing asbestos from a building, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Vele Bozinoski, 61, of Elmwood Park, N.J., previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman to an Indictment charging him with violating the Clean Air Act’s asbestos work practice standards and with conspiring with others to commit that offense. Judge Hillman imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:
In February 2007, Bozinoski hired workers to remove insulation at the former Garden State Paper Mill, a facility that contained more than 160 linear feet of asbestos-containing material. Bozinoski conspired with others to fail to thoroughly inspect the facility for the presence of asbestos or to notify the Environmental Protection Agency of the presence of asbestos, prior to commencing insulation removal, as was required by federal law. Bozinoski also conspired with others to fail to ensure that material containing asbestos was wet prior to stripping it off pipes and other facility components or to seal asbestos-containing material in leak-tight containers until it was collected for disposal.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge David Velazquez; and special agents of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge William V. Lometti, with the investigation leading to today’s sentence.
The Government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen P. O'Leary of the U.S. Attorney's Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit in Newark.
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Jon L.Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson). For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.
Read more about illegal "asbestos removal violations
Jun 22, 2012
They allegedly engaged in asbestos removal without the required license from the New Jersey Department of Labor, and their illegal activities allegedly caused the release of asbestos dust and debris. Kouvaras, the owner of ...
Jan 06, 2011
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Inspector General has just signed an "Early Warning Report" that will shut down a dangerous and unapproved asbestos removal method that two EPA offices have been testing for ...
Aug 14, 2009
US EPA Cites Vermont Companies for Asbestos Removal. A Vermont company was cited by the US EPA for failing to test for asbestos. The company had been demolishing a building and failed to first test for the presence of ...
Aug 01, 2012
“Asbestos must be removed in a safe and legal way in order to protect people's health and reduce the risk of exposure,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
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