Nikolay Mamluke | Dreamstime
The U.S. Department of Labor cited two companies for failing to protect their workers when a concrete mezzanine platform collapsed during a job at a building in Boston, resulting in three injuries.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), on May 5, an employee of an Everett demolition contractor lost his legs when a concrete mezzanine platform of a building at the former Boston Edison power plant in South Boston collapsed during demolition and asbestos abatement operations. OSHA did not state how severe the other two workers' injuries were.
An inspection by OSHA determined that New York-based NorthStar Contracting Group Inc. and Boston-based general contractor, Suffolk Construction Inc., failed to ensure adequate demolition and asbestos safeguards for their employees.
OSHA issued citations to NorthStar Contracting for three willful violations, four serious violations and one other-than-serious violation of workplace safety standards. The agency proposed $399,864 in penalties. Specifically, OSHA found NorthStar failed to:
conduct an engineering survey to determine the condition of the mezzanine, framing, floors and walls of the building during demolition operations to avoid the possibility of unplanned collapse;
ensure a designated competent person performed or supervised required duties in the asbestos containment area, such as regular and frequent job site inspections, protecting the integrity of the enclosure and setting up and maintaining control of personnel entering the area;
conspicuously post the safe weight load limit on the mezzanine floor where demolition and asbestos debris was being stored;
train employees adequately to recognize and avoid collapse, struck-by and crushing hazards;
ensure employees entering and working in regulated asbestos containment areas wore respirators and did not have facial hair or beards that came between the sealing surface of the facepiece and the face and/or interfered with valve function;
remove asbestos-containing waste by the end of the shift; and
provide OSHA 300 logs to investigators within four business hours.
OSHA also issued two willful and three serious citations to Suffolk Construction and proposed $292,116 in penalties for the company's failure to:
inspect the contractor's work in the asbestos-regulated containment area to ensure compliance with all aspects of the asbestos standard;
ensure employees wearing respirators inside regulated asbestos containment areas did not have facial hair that came between the sealing surface of the facepiece and the face and/or interfered with valve function;
have a plan in place to prevent an unplanned collapse of the mezzanine;
conspicuously post the safe weight load limit on the mezzanine floor where demolition and asbestos debris was being stored; and
provide frequent and regular inspections inside the asbestos control area of the mezzanine.
"The employers in this case exposed employees to the immediate hazard of structural collapse and the potential long-term consequences of asbestos exposure,” says OSHA Area Director James Mulligan. “These hazards are preventable, and employers can control and eliminate them. Had they ensured proper planning- including engineering surveys and frequent and regular job site inspections, effective safety procedures, personal protective equipment and employee training – was in place, this incident, and the violations that followed, might have been avoided.”
Each employer has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.