Source: Jackson Citizen Patriot (MI), June 21, 2015
Posted on: http://fpn.advisen.com
The recent discovery of asbestos in the air at Central Michigan University’s Warriner Hall should serve as a lesson for public institutions across this state about the risk of doing business with contractors who don’t use property trained workers.
Contractors began removing asbestos May 8, and three weeks later tests revealed elevated levels of asbestos in the air that workers and students breathe every day. The most logical way asbestos could penetrate multiple levels of this building is if construction crews unknowingly disturbed or attempted to improperly remove the substance.
It’s not uncommon for buildings to remain open during asbestos abatement work. However, because the building is now completely closed, students can’t enter and public employees are forced to work inefficiently in other parts of the university. Not only is the asbestos exposure a risk to public health, the project will now be more expensive because the work wasn’t done right and on time the first time.
This type of incident should never happen, and there are steps that can be taken to prevent it from happening in the future.
Public institutions are stewards of our tax dollars, and they have a responsibility to hire the most qualified contractors. If CMU had a “responsible contractor policy” that required construction companies to be affiliated with a Department of Labor-approved training and apprenticeship program, this asbestos problem would never have occurred.
Asbestos exposure is very dangerous and the chemical should be removed by highly skilled workers with the proper training to prevent it from putting students and the public at risk. Fortunately, there are strict laws when it comes to the removal of asbestos.
Just last year, contractors were convicted on federal charges for the illegal removal and disposal of asbestos at the Bay City Academy charter school. We now know that this crime happened under the watch of Steven Ingersoll, who was also convicted of federal crimes related to tax evasion and conspiracy. It was the LIUNA Local 1098 that shone the light on these illegal practices, and the general public must demand even more accountability from public institutions such as CMU.
The truth is, skilled labor isn’t cheap, and cheap labor isn’t skilled. We must make sure public bodies are getting the most out of our scarce tax dollars, but we can’t lose sight of quality and safety. We can’t hope to save a few bucks while compromising on the health and safety of workers and students. We need to ensure our schools are hiring qualified contractors who participate in federally-recognized training programs. This is the only way we can guarantee that the health and safety of the public is protected.
More communities and public institutions should be enacting responsible contractor policies to ensure workers are well-trained, fairly compensated and protected on the job. In the end, policies like this will prevent incidents like what we’ve seen at CMU.
Finally, there needs to be an investigation into what happened at Warriner Hall. Asbestos doesn’t get into the air by itself, and CMU must put in place policies to ensure its students are safe and that our tax dollars go to contractors that follow the law.