Tuesday, December 4, 2012

City not protecting workers doing cleanup

From the Daily News:

Extra hands hired off the street are being sent into mold-infested, storm-damaged basements in public housing to clean with highly toxic chemicals but without proper equipment, gear or training, the Daily News has learned.

The Housing Authority first asked its union partners to help with the cleaning — but union officials refused, citing the lack of training or protective clothing.

So the city hired Belchor, an outside company, to do the work.

The company would not comment, but a top official with the federal agency that oversees worker safety said workers were not properly suited up for the jobs they were performing.

“There were (personal protective equipment) issues and they are addressing (it),” said Richard Mendelson, head of the New York office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Mendelson’s teams have inspected job sites in Queens and Brooklyn. As of Friday, OSHA inspectors had checked 2,215 sites, finding nearly 6,000 employees — one in three — working in hazardous conditions.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, hell, how many tenants, at even the 'luxury' LIC buildings, know of the very real potential health hazard.

The building staff and cleanup crew only completes the picture.

Anonymous said...

Why should the city give a damn?

It looks like a lot of these workers are immigrant types who are at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder.

Anonymous said...

"OMG we need to clean this up fast!"
"OMG we need to be 100% safe and by the book! regulations and rules!"

Pick one, people.

PETER said...

WHY WOULD THE CITY GIVE A SHIT ABOUT MOLD AND WORKERS HIRED OFF THE STREET. THE CITY DIDNT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THE COPS, FIREMEN, SANITATION, CORRECTIONS AND EVERY OTHER PERSON WHO WORKED AT A TOXIC WASTELEND CALLED "GROUND ZERO".....THE INCIDENCE OF CANCERS AMONGST THE WORKERS IS GROWING DAILY, HEART AND LUNG PROBLEMS AS WELL. SO WHY WOULD ANYONE THINK THAT MAYOR DOOMBERG OR ANY LEADER IN THIS CITY GIVES A SHIT ABOUT YOU!!!