MIOSHA Cites Clean Air Insulation For Serious Violations For Asbestos Hazards

Lansing, MI (CompNewsNetwork) - Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth (DELEG) Director Stanley “Skip” Pruss today announced the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) has cited Clean Air Insulation, of Redford, with $63,750 in proposed penalties for allegedly failing to adequately protect employees and the general public from serious asbestos hazards at the Village Plaza building in Dearborn.

"Clean Air Insulation was hired to perform asbestos abatement at the Village Plaza building in Dearborn, and yet they did not carry out the work in a manner that would assure protection of their workers or the public," said Pruss. "Furthermore the company did not possess a license to perform asbestos abatement work, and did not utilize accredited asbestos abatement workers to perform the work.  We will not allow this indifference to public and worker safety.”

Asbestos is a mineral fiber that has been used in more than 3,000 different products over the last 100 years for its insulating, acoustical and fire protective properties.  Common products that contain asbestos are pipe insulation, floor and ceiling tile, spray-on fireproofing and boiler wrap insulation.

Improper removal and/or disturbance of asbestos can cause asbestos fibers to become airborne.  Inhalation of airborne asbestos fibers can cause:

• Lung cancer,
• A lung disease known as "asbestosis," and
• Mesothelioma, a cancer of the chest and abdominal cavities.

MIOSHA Asbestos Standardsrequire a survey at all worksites involving pre-1981 buildings where asbestos may be contacted or before construction work subject to the standards begins.  It is the employer's responsibility to obtain and review the building survey prior to conducting any work activities that may involve contact and/or disturbance of asbestos-containing material (ACM).  The standards require that workers are adequately trained, and detail the proper maintenance, removal and handling of ACM.

On February 3, 2010, the MIOSHA Asbestos Program began a complaint investigation involving an allegation that asbestos material was being improperly removed at the Village Plaza building in Dearborn.  The building is owned by DM Associates, and was undergoing renovations under the direction of general contractor Ronnisch Construction Group.  DM Associates hired Clean Air Insulation to perform the asbestos abatement work.

Clean Air Insulation is owned by Steven Theriault, who has a long history with the MIOSHA Asbestos Program.  He initially worked for Atlas Service Company, Inc., owned by his father, Joseph Terrio.  Atlas had an extensive citation history that ultimately led to a settlement agreement in which Terrio surrendered his license as an asbestos abatement contractor on July 16, 2003, and Theriault agreed he would not seek his own asbestos contractor's license until July 16, 2005.

In October 2005, a MIOSHA Asbestos Program investigation found that Clean Air Insulation was performing asbestos abatement work without a license at a private residence.  In addition, a number of asbestos work violations were identified and penalties totaling $14,000 were issued.

In the current investigation, Clean Air Insulation was again found performing asbestos abatement work on the property of another person without an asbestos abatement contractor's license.  A number of violations of the MIOSHA asbestos standards were identified.  MIOSHA also identified three violations of the Asbestos Abatement Contractors Licensing Act and the Asbestos Worker Accreditation Act.

MIOSHA proposed nine Serious Willful violations because of the citation history of both Clean Air Insulation and Atlas Service Company.  Some of the Serious Willful violations included:  no monitoring performed to determine employee exposure, work not conducted in a regulated area, appropriate engineering and work practice controls not used during asbestos removal, no decontamination area provided for employees conducting asbestos work, and employees not informed of the presence of asbestos-containing material.  (Following is a Summary of Violations.)

“Employers have a legal responsibility to protect their workers and the general public from the hazards associated with the improper removal and/or disturbance of asbestos,” said MIOSHA Director Doug Kalinowski.  “We strongly encourage companies to use all available resources to ensure the safety and health of their workers and the public.”

A Willful violation is one committed with an intentional disregard of the requirements of MIOSHA regulations, or plain indifference to employee safety and health.  A Serious violation exists where there is a substantial probability that serious physical harm or death can result to an employee from the exposure.

The company has 15 working days from receipt of the citations to comply or contest the violations and penalties.

Clean Air Insulation; #310325147 – Summary of Violations

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