Future Environment Designs Training Center's Blog

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

OSHA Focuses on Tortilla Companies

Image via WikipediaThe Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Tortilleria Chinantla factory in Brooklyn (a tortilla company) for violations carrying fines totaling over $62,000 after an investigation into the death of a worker, Juan Baten, a 22-year-old Guatemalan immigrant who was married and had a 7-month-old daughter, who fell into an industrial mixing machine at its factory. The death occurred Jan. 24. The most serious violation involved the failure of Tortilleria Chinantla to install a guard barrier on the mixer to prevent employees from coming into contact with its fast-moving machinery. The infraction was classified as “willful,” the most severe category of violation issued by OSHA, and carries a penalty of $42,000. The company was also cited for seven other violations, six of which are labeled “serious.” Among those was the lack of a program to prevent the unintended start-up of machinery.

OSHA also said that after the death of Mr. Baten, investigators inspected the factories of two other Brooklyn tortilla makers and issued a total of 26 violations to those companies. One, Buena Vista Tortillas Corporation, was cited with having 14 violations, 13 of them deemed “serious,” carrying $39,000 in fines. The other, La Tortilleria Mexicana Los Tres Hermanos Corporation, was cited with having 12 serious violations carrying a total of $33,600 in fines.

Related articles

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Asbestos Found At Plattsburgh, NY Site

An article titled "Asbestos Found At Nikki's Site; Tear Down Can Start" in the Press Republican Newspaper on August 9, 2011 discusses the condemned bar and rooming house at the corner of Main and Academy streets that partially collapsed on July 25 and damaged the adjacent property, known as the Faubert Building in Plattsburgh, New York. Testing confirmed that the debris from the collapse of Nikki's Place contains asbestos.

According to the article, Dilshad Perera, on-site coordinator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said that as soon as the estimated funding needed for the cleanup is in place, a certified asbestos-abatement contractor can be hired to safely haul the material away.

We assume this project is using the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) Industrial Code Rule 56 section on controlled demolition with asbestos in place. Though it does surprise me that the EPA is on-site versus NYSDOL.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Future Environment Designs Sponsors Mycobacterium tuberculosis: TB Video.

Image by Microbe World via FlickrFuture Environment Designs is proud to sponsor a new informational video on Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This video is designed as a public service awareness video on the topic of Tuberculosis (TB) which is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Friday, August 12, 2011

White House and EPA Misled Public on Air Quality After 9/11 Attack.

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 08: Construction continue...

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeBased on a New York Times article "Public Misled on Air Quality After 9/11 Attack, Judge Says" - Federal judge Deborah A. Batts of Federal District Court in Manhattan, found that Christine Whitman, when she led the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), made "misleading statements of safety" about the air quality near the World Trade Center in the days after the Sept. 11 attack. These statements may have put the public in danger. This pointed criticism of Mrs. Whitman came in a ruling by the judge in a 2004 class action lawsuit on behalf of residents and schoolchildren from downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn who say they were exposed to air contamination inside buildings near the trade center. The suit, against Mrs. Whitman, other former and current EPA officials and the agency itself, charges that they failed to warn people of dangerous materials in the air and then failed to carry out an adequate cleanup. The plaintiffs are seeking monetary damages and want the judge to order a thorough cleaning. In her ruling, Judge Batts decided not to dismiss the case against Mrs. Whitman, who is being sued both as former administrator of the EPA and as an individual.

In a separate but similar article by CBS News titled "W. House Molded EPA's 9/11 Reports", the EPA's internal watchdog found that the White House influenced the statements released by the EPA and that the data did not support the statements that were released. Making the 9/11 tragedy even deeper considering the amount of harm we did to ourselves by these actions.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Mold Exposure Has Greater Impact on Infants

Image by yori kato via FlickrA new study published in the journal Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology has shown that mold exposure has much greater impact in infants during their formative years. The article on this study was published online at the Environmental News Network. For certain individuals, the inhalation of mold can be extremely hazardous for the lungs, respiratory system, and overall well-being. Some people are more susceptible than others to the symptoms caused by airborne mold, but it is generally accepted that mold exposure is unhealthy for all. The new study found that infants living in moldy homes are much more likely to develop asthma by age 7.
"Early life exposure to mold seems to play a critical role in childhood asthma development," says Tina Reponen, PhD, lead study author and University of Cincinnati (UC) professor of environmental health. "Genetic factors are also important to consider in asthma risk, since infants whose parents have an allergy or asthma are at the greatest risk of developing asthma."
Mold growth is linked to environments with elevated levels of moisture. For example, basements are a common spot for mold because of underground moisture, periodic flooding from storms, and lack of air flow. Mold will start growing on surfaces like drywall, concrete, plywood, and other building materials. Microscopic spores can then be released into the air and find their way into the lungs. Once in the body, the spores can cause fungal infections, allergic reactions, irritation of the eye, nose, and throat, etc. Long-term effects include serious respiratory infections like asthma or bronchitis.
The recent study, conducted by researchers from UC and Cincinnati Children's Hospital, utilized seven years of comprehensive data for 176 children. The data was used to evaluate the effects of mold exposure from early life. The analysis took into account the likelihood of developing allergies based on family medical history.
The children in the study came from a much larger study in the Cincinnati area. The 176 children selected come from homes which contained mold. Mold was measured in the their homes using an EPA method known as environmental relative moldiness index (ERMI). In this method, mold exposure levels are measured using a DNA-based analysis tool which combines the analysis of 36 different mold types into a single index. Link to published article: http://www.annallergy.org/article/S1081-1206%2811%2900313-9/abstract

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Rudy Giuliani and Air Quality After 9/11: Part 1 & Part 2

Mike Metzer, from the Environmental Protection...

Image via WikipediaAfter listening and reading this newscast I found it interesting how everyone is pointing at the federal government experts (Giuliani, Cohen, etc.), as the reason why the first responders were allowed to expose themselves to the asbestos and other hazardous materials on the site. A very interesting two part, newscast by WNYC titled Rudy Giuliani and Air Quality After 9/11: Part 1 & Part 2. The 9/11 cleanup was a huge failure on the part of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Especially, OSHA who should've been on the site making sure workers were wearing respirators and wearing them properly. OSHA crowed about 0 injuries at the site after the cleanups were done. Where are they now, that we know that some 20,000 workers at the site are ill from their exposure to the contaminants at 9/11?

Tuesday, August 09, 2011

NYSDOL Asbestos Inspector Indicted in Kensington Towers Probe

Thank you to Darren Yehl of Cornerstone Training for bringing this indictment to my attention:

A state inspector and two City of Buffalo inspectors are among nine individuals and two companies indicted Thursday on felony charges related to an asbestos removal project in the city. The 23-count federal indictment also charges six of the contractors' employees with improperly removing and disposing of asbestos at the Kensington Heights housing project on Fillmore Avenue. Federal and state officials would not confirm the likelihood that workers or neighborhood residents were put at risk during the asbestos removal, but they would not rule it out either.

"These are very serious charges," U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. told reporters. "Asbestos is a highly dangerous substance."

The charges outlined in the 62-page indictment center around the work done by two companies -- Johnson Contracting of Buffalo and JMD Environmental Inc. of Grand island -- and the allegations that they violated the federal Clean Air Act by improperly disposing of asbestos. The indictment also charges a state Labor Department inspector, Theodore Lehmann, and two city inspectors, Donald Grzebielucha and William Manuszewski, with falsifying inspection reports.

"They certified false documents or lied about what they saw," Hochul said.

Prosecutors said one of the inspectors has reportedly retired but two others remain on the job. State and city officials declined to comment, and Lehmann, Grzebielucha and Manuszewski could not be reached to comment. When asked if bribes were involved, Hochul said his office has yet to uncover any evidence of payoffs.

"At this point, I can't comment on the motive," he said of the inspectors.

Most of the indictment focuses on the work of the two companies hired to remove and dispose of asbestos at Kensington Heights. Visible from the Kensington Expressway, the 17-acre public housing project has been a symbol of decay and abandonment for three decades. The complex, made up of six vacant towers behind Erie County Medical Center, is owned by the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority and was targeted for demolition two years ago. Tearing down the eight-story towers is the first step in the Housing Authority's proposal for a new $105 million retirement community.

As part of the demolition, Johnson Contracting was hired to remove and dispose of the estimated 63,000 square feet of asbestos in each of the towers. JMD was hired to monitor their work. The indictment alleges that from June 2009 to January 2010, Johnson and two of its managers -- President Ernest Johnson and Supervisor Rai Johnson -- instructed workers to dump asbestos down holes cut through the floors of each building. They also are charged with failing to wet the asbestos and leaving it in open containers for disposal.

Aaron Mango, the assistant U.S. attorney overseeing the case, said Johnson's practices violated a wide range of regulations regarding the disposal of asbestos.

"It is so dangerous," Mango said, "you have to insure you're taking these steps."

The indictment also alleges that JMD, the company hired to monitor Johnson's work, conspired to violate the Clean Air Act. The company was hired to conduct air sampling tests and other oversight work but, according to prosecutors, failed to do those tests properly. The government also claims JMD falsified inspection reports. The indictment also charges four of JMD's employees: Field Supervisor Evan Harnden of North Tonawanda and Project Monitors Henry Hawkins of Buffalo, Chris Coseglia of Niagara Falls and Brian Scott of North Tonawanda.

Each of the 23 counts carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both.

"Asbestos is a known carcinogen and we take very seriously these investigations," said David G. McLeod Jr., assistant special agent in charge of the Criminal Investigative Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

According to the EPA, exposure to asbestos increases the risk of lung disease, including lung cancer and mesothelioma. State and federal officials would not speculate on the public health risks posed by the asbestos-removal effort at Kensington Heights. They did acknowledge, however, that given the companies' alleged practices and the six-month period in which the alleged violations took place, it is possible the public was put at risk.

"There are plenty of good reasons why the (Clean Air Act) is on the books," Hochul said.

Prosecutors said the indictment is the culmination of an investigation involving a wide range of state and federal agencies, including the FBI, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Work on Kensington Heights stalled last year and prompted the Housing Authority to terminate its demolition contract with developer Hormoz Mansouri in January. Mansouri countered by suing the authority for breach of contract. Federal officials said Mansouri, a politically connected contractor, is not accused of any wrongdoing.