An Illinois company has been singled out and fined by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration for failing to protect its workers adequately from loose asbestos fibers during a 2010 cleanup.
Following an OSHA investigation, AMD Industries of Cicero, IL was issued 19 “willful” and eight “serious” health citations – as well as $1,247,400 in penalties – for the way it handled an in-house removal of asbestos products from its facility in 2010. The asbestos products, which had included asbestos coating on boilers, heating units, and piping, had initially been discovered during a 2002 safety audit.
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When AMD eventually began removing the asbestos in 2010, they did so using untrained workers who were not properly equipped to safely handle the products, some of which contained up to 50 percent asbestos. Upon learning of the improper asbestos removal, the Illinois Attorney General’s office intervened and ordered the company to implement a program to remediate any asbestos contamination.
"Asbestos exposure can be deadly," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. "AMD Industries knew it was assigning workers to asbestos removal work and failed to take the most basic safety precautions. This employer did not provide protective respirators or even warn the workers of the risk to their health from removing the material."
Among the OSHA health citations that were levied on AMD were failures to provide employees engaged in the hazardous work with the proper training and protective clothing/equipment, inform workers of the locations and quantities of asbestos they would be dealing with, monitor airborne concentrations of asbestos, and conduct asbestos work in regulated areas.
If you or a loved one was exposed to asbestos while working for a current or former employer and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, there may be legal options worth pursuing to obtain a mesothelioma settlement. Contact a mesothelioma attorney if you have any questions about the details of asbestos law and what is needed to pursue a settlement from the manufacturer of the asbestos product that caused the illness.