Springfield, Oregon - A Utah-based contractor, along with McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center in Springfield, Oregon, has been fined by state safety and health inspectors for improper handling of asbestos during renovations that occurred last year.
According to an article in The Register-Guard of Eugene, a McKenzie-Willamette spokesperson noted that the potential exposure "was in an area of the hospital undergoing a heat and air conditioning upgrade by licensed contractors, and, at the time of construction, was not an active patient care area."
Specifically, asbestos was found in sealant and tape used in the duct work of the hospital's HVAC system in the second floor drop ceiling above the operating room. Apparently, it was disturbed during the renovation work, which was being conducted by Layton Construction Company, Inc. The state also fined two subcontractors, FM Sheet Metal and JK Guckenberger Electrical, and cited two others, Twin Rivers Plumbing Inc. of Eugene, and Labor Ready, a Eugene-based company that supplied temporary employees who worked in the area where the asbestos was disturbed, according to the newspaper account.
A statement from the hospital notes that employees and patients shouldn't be concerned about asbestos exposure. "We have received no notification of any injury," the hospital added. "Additional asbestos identification and management training has been done with all contractors and employees who may come in contact with such materials."
Sub-contractor Twin Rivers claims Layton Construction is to blame for the negligence. A spokesperson for the plumbing company noted that they "believed what Layton told them", which included a report that no asbestos was present in the area where they were working. "We were pretty innocent in the whole thing," added Sandee Gerber, Twin Rivers co-owner.
In the meantime, McKenzie-Willamette has been fined a total of $26,960 for seven violations. Major violations include failure to inform custodians, housekeepers, operating staff and other employees working near the construction zone about the presence of asbestos; and failure to maintain records, such as studies that had detected asbestos on site.
Layton, which is a sizeable national contractor, was fined $25,200 for five violations, including failing to inform subcontractors about the asbestos in the second-floor work area, and failing to inform subcontractors of asbestos in the basement within 24 hours of discovering it there.
Asbestos exposure can result in the development of asbestos diseases such as mesothelioma. Asbestos was a common component in all sorts of building products until the mid 1970s, when the EPA passed regulations about its use, adding it to a list of known carcinogens.
