Dive Brief:
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Two Seattle construction companies will have to pay a combined $379,000 for “willfully” exposing their workers to asbestos, the Washington Department of Labor & Industries has ruled.
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Partners Construction was hired to remove asbestos from an apartment building that was to be demolished. After certifying to the building owner that the job was complete, a crew member revealed that some 5,400 square feet of asbestos-containing ceiling and floor materials remained in the building. Workers also complained that they were not protected from the carcinogen while on the job site.
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After a second firm, Asbestos Construction Management, came in to finish the job, it was discovered that its workers also were not protected and that it, too, deliberately left asbestos on the job site. The agency charged the company with “willful and serious” safety and health violations. Partners Construction has since gone out of business.
Dive Insight:
Even brief exposure to asbestos during removal puts a construction worker at risk for lung cancer. Government standards require employers to shield their crews by supplying protective gear, educating them about the risks, and teaching them to handle the banned building material safely and dispose of it properly.
While not everyone who is exposed to asbestos develops cancer—which can appear decades after the exposure—the National Cancer Institute estimates that millions of demolition workers, drywall removers, asbestos abatement specialists and others have been exposed to the once-legal product since the early 1940s.