Source: http://www.lowellsun.com, March 7, 2017
By: Amaris Castillo
Students, faculty, and staff at Greater Lowell Technical High School risked exposure to asbestos due to the shoddy demolition and renovation work of Lawrence-based RM Technologies, Inc., according to a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Maura Healey.
The complaint filed in Suffolk Superior Court alleges that workers of RM Technologies in 2014 failed to contain work areas while performing asbestos work, allowed pieces of asbestos-containing waste material to remain dry and uncontained in many places throughout the school, failed to clean up visible debris after performing asbestos work, among other violations.
A call and emails seeking comment from Rafael Guzman, president and owner of RM Technologies, Inc., were not returned Monday.
“Asbestos can be found in many homes, in schools, and in workplaces, and if it is not handled properly it poses a serious health risk,” Healey said in a written statement. “Too often, children, families, and workers are exposed to airborne asbestos fibers due to shoddy or unlicensed work, and many aren’t aware of the serious danger it poses.”
Pursuing this case is part of a new initiative announced last week by Healey’s office that in part ramps up enforcement of unsafe and illegal asbestos work by landlords, property owners and contractors. According to AG spokeswoman Chloe Gotsis, this case came to the AG’s office in early 2015 through a report from an alleged victim.
There are other cases the AG’s office has handled over the past year involving asbestos, such as one out of Worcester where four affiliated Worcester-area companies were ordered in 2016 to pay up to $129,000 to settle allegations that their workers illegally removed, stored, and handled asbestos-containing material during two demolition projects.
The “Healthy Buildings, Healthy Air” initiative has a multi-faceted approach that includes partnering state agencies and school districts to ensure safe asbestos practices in schools, according to a release. It also focuses on educating those with a greater risk of asbestos exposure, which includes children, the elderly and low-income families.
Health concerns last year over GL Tech’s $65 million construction project led to the resignation of at least one staff member and a number of workers’ compensation claims.
“We have not been contacted by the attorney’s office stating that they have evidence to show that anything was done wrong,” School Committee Chairman Ray Boutin said on Monday, adding that school officials heard about the lawsuit late last week. “We had the Department of Public Health come in and the Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards were here numerous times.”
Boutin said RM Technologies was hired for the asbestos-abatement work by Consigli Construction Co., Inc, the latter of which handled the school’s renovation.
“I was very surprised by it (lawsuit), only because the Mass. Department of Public Health and the Mass. Department of Labor Standards have responded to complaints during the project and they sent all kinds of people out there to check and make sure that everything was being done properly,” said Superintendent-Director Roger Bourgeois, adding that multiple tests were conducted. “Every indication that we’ve ever gotten from them is that things were being done properly.”
In a March 3 letter obtained by The Sun that addressed to students, staff and families, Bourgeois said the major construction/renovation project at the school included the removal of some wall panels that contained asbestos fibers embedded within the solid panels.
“Please be assured that providing a safe and healthy school environment has been and always will be our number one priority,” Bourgeois’ letter read.
After health concerns rose last year over the high school’s construction project, Consigli Safety Director Dan Della-Giustina said the subcontractor “strictly followed” an abatement plan submitted to the state’s Department of Environmental Protection.
“On several occasions through the course of the project, officials from DEP and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development inspected the site and did not issue any citations,” Della-Giustina said at the time. “Consigli completed this project with the same degree of safety and quality for which we are known throughout the industry.”
Boutin said he knows there was a complaint by one of the school’s staff members which he said was followed by increased testing.
“When something was brought to our attention,” he said, “we always made it a priority that our staff and our students would be safe.”
A message seeking comment from Greater Lowell Teachers Organization President Cheryl Ann Bomal and Vice President John Taylor was not returned Monday.