A carpet replacement project at the Lockhart County Clerk’s Office has landed Niagara County in hot water as the State Labor Department contends the County violated at least eight asbestos laws back in January.

According to the Labor Department’s Bureau of Public Employee Safety and Health (PESH), portions of the flooring at the County Clerk’s Officer were removed without proper measures enacted to protect workers and welfare clients from asbestos exposure.

Employees were essentially kept in the dark as the old carpet was replaced and thrown into a dumpster before installation of the new flooring began.

The old flooring was discovered to have contained asbestos, most likely used as a fire retardant, but dangerous nonetheless.  William Rutland, president of Niagara County’s unit of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, initiated the complaint with PESH shortly after the carpet was replaced.

After an investigation, it was found that the old flooring was 1.09 percent to 1.13 percent asbestos, but no asbestos was found in the carpet glue or on the surrounding air.

Just last year, county workers underwent extensive training in asbestos laws and regulations pertaining to the recognition of the toxic material after the publicized debacle of removing asbestos from Niagara County’s Shaw Building. However, PESH reported that these workers did not receive proper training about what to do if asbestos was found in tile under carpeting.

However, Jennifer Pitarresi, Niagara County’s risk and assurance director, publicly stated that the carpet replacement workers were at fault for failing to recognize the asbestos.

Pitarresi stated, “We have undertaken surveys of all crawl spaces, boiler rooms and other work spaces in buildings that potentially contain asbestos. Mr. Rutland’s interpretation of the PESH order is incorrect. .”

She added that Niagara County has established new asbestos laws that mandate testing for asbestos prior to any construction or demolition on county property.

Asbestos Laws

Many states have their own asbestos laws pertaining to the removal of the toxic substance.  However, in 1971 the EPA enacted the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) requiring that if a site, building, school, home, or any other entity containing asbestos needs to be repaired, remodeled, or destroyed, a certified asbestos professional must be to the one to do the job.

Asbestos professionals have the required knowledge and training in order to work around asbestos-laden materials. Workers, contractors, inspectors, planners, and designers must all undergo stringent asbestos exposure training before working on sites that contain asbestos materials.

Once they have completed training, there are several strict mandated asbestos laws that they must adhere to:

• Anyone working around asbestos must always be allowed proper ventilation.
• Any worker who is exposed to asbestos while renovating, repairing, or remodeling, must be allowed several breaks without being exposed for too long. The employer must also provide hygiene products and protective clothing to each worker.
• Warning signs and instructions must always be visible around work areas containing asbestos.
• Along with protective clothing, workers must have access to other protective equipment, such as respirators.
• Medical examinations focused on asbestos in the lungs must be provided to all workers who are in contact with asbestos and asbestos-containing materials.
• Showers with hot water and other asbestos exposure safety precautions must be provided.

Unfortunately, the majority of these asbestos laws were implemented years after millions of workers had already been exposed to asbestos on a daily basis. As a result, thousands of those workers have already suffered asbestos exposure and have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, such as lung cancer.

According to state and federal asbestos laws, if you’ve been exposed to asbestos in the lungs and diagnosed with a disease after working in a place that contained asbestos, you may have grounds to file an asbestos lawsuit.