It sounds as if your school went with the low-bid contractor and, at be st, they have no knowledge of your state's regulations. This doesn't se em logical given what any employer should know and be doing in today' s world. Running a Google search just for OSHA + liability b rings up over a million links including these two: http://ww w.isriconvention.org/2006/presentations/Safety%20Track/Protecti ng%20Yo ur%20Rights%20and%20Avoiding%20Liability/LiesProtectingYourRights .PP T http://www.gentrylocke.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=792 You should contact the school's legal counsel along with your state aut horities. http://www.epa.state.il.us/ http://www.state .il.us/agency/idol/ http://www.icjia.state.il.us/public/ The information contained in this e-mail message and any attachments ma y be confidential. It is intended only for the use of the individual o r entities named above. If the reader of this message is not the intend ed recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribut ion or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you hav e received this communication in error, please notify us immediately b y e-mail at the originating address. Peter Lazarski Na tionalgrid USA Chemical Laboratory, Bldg. 1 7437 Henry Clay Blvd . Liverpool, NY 13088 Phone: (315) 460-2114 Fax: (315 ) 460-8578 Email: peter.lazarski**At_Symbol_Here**us.ngrid.com -----Ori ginal Message----- From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**list.u vm.edu] On Behalf Of Schmidt-Nebril, Kathleen Sent: Monday, March 09, 2009 11:18 PM To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Mercury cleanup by a contracted vendor Currently I am the Dominic an University CHO and am looking for comments, advice and/or resources to address the a situation I found myself in today. Our Physical Plant had hired an abatement contractor to clear our an old science building lab that had a known asbestos and Hg problem. When I arrived on the s cene to pick up another item this contractor had their crew of 5-7 non English speaking workers tearing out cabinets, counters etc in the cont aminated room with absolutely no ventilation and only 2 workers wearing respirators for Hg toxic vapors? The room itself was sealed in plastic and about 80F so I just knew the Hg vapor reading would be sky high. They had the room sealed because they had to keep the asbetos dust in? The company had an available Luminox instrument to detect air conc. of Hg and I insisted they stop work and check the room. Of course the rea ding was off the chart with the unit min allowed Hg conc being 1000( no t sure of the unit) we read at 45000! I made quite a fuss to the vendo r about their worker's safety and insisted the room be ventilated and w ork stop until levels were within allowable range. At the same time oth er contracted vendors were showing up to do work in the room and I reco mmended they wait for safe levels. These were not vendors I had contrac ted but I definitely could tell they had a total disregard for their ow n crews safety and safety in general. How liable are we for contracted vendors safety? Can we be held responsible for their workers becoming ill from exposure since they are not our employees? I was hoping some one out there can help me establish a strong case for safety to my empl oyer with any website references or info you may have in these situatio ns. Thank You Kathleen Schmidt-Nebril ----- Original Message----- From: DCHAS-L Discussion List on behalf of Chrism arlowe Sent: Sat 3/7/2009 7:58 AM To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU Su bject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Amorphous silicone dioxide silica Paul : WRT: "what do I say next time he wants to order in bulk!? " Tell him, "Yes. The institution supports purchase in bulk as lo ng as: - The department will really use that much chemical long b efore it goes bad and - The department has the physica l and procedural ability to manage the material and its hazards." Stay healthy, Chris Marlowe 42 Highlander D r Scotch Plains, NJ 07076 908 / 754 - 5160 (home) 732 / 539 - 8128 (cell) Krismarlowe**At_Symbol_Here**Verizon.net *************** ***************************************************************** This e-mail and any files transmitted with it, are confidential to National Grid and are intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this e-mail in error, please reply to this message and let the sender know.
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