Bad Asbestos Job Renews Call For New Laws

Article Added March 30th, 2006 - Print This Story - Bookmark This Story

After a botched asbestos removal went from bad to worse, legislators are now calling for worker training measures for those handling the hazardous material. The legislation would not only increase worker safety, but public safety as well.

The Rath County Office Building asbestos removal project has had its problems, but it seems that the project itself may have gotten worse in a short time. Asbestos handlers on the job through the contractor’s company had only been working a few days when they allowed water to leak from the 14^th floor to the 13^th floor, causing the Parks Department located on the affected floor to be relocated. Just two weeks after that, in mid March, agents for the Federal Citizenship and Immigration Services found out that more than half of the 11 workers handling the deadly material were undocumented aliens.

Superior Abatement of Fairfield, NJ, the contractor involved, has been cited before in both federal and state courts for work performed in Buffalo. While the company may have been trouble in the past, it continues to receive contracts due to low costs, a reason that justifies the need for worker training like the one vetoed by the County Executive last week. The move is to certify that a worker has completed a safe handling class, which, if it had been mandatory on this site, would have weeded out the undocumented aliens which aggravated the risk to the public.

Article Added March 30th, 2006 - Print This Story - Bookmark This Story