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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 03011988 - IO.4 To BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FROM: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE Contra February 22, 1988 DATE: Costa Report on Asbestos Removal at County SUBJECT: USS-POSCO SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATIONS) & BACKGROUND AMID JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1 . Request the Health Services Director to write to the C. H. Heist Corporation of Brunswick, Ohio, the firm which did the asbestos removal at the U. S. Steel plant in 1986, asking for copies of their records pertaining to the removal work, including any indications of protective gear which were furnished to U. S. Steel workers or contractor' s workers in the immediate area where the asbestos removal was being done. 2 . Request the Health Services Director to write to USS-POSCO, the State Department of Health Services, the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (CAL-OSHA) and the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration requesting the following information: A. What laws were in effect in California at the time the asbestos removal work was done which related to the need for the work to be done by a licensed contractor specializing in asbestos removal, protection for nearby workers, and disposal of asbestos? B. What work was actually done at the United States Steel plant in Pittsburg and what state or federal agencies were notified that the work was being undertaken? C. What records currently exist that are in the possession of United States Steel, or any state or federal regulatory agency, which describe the work that was done, precautions taken to protect the health and safety of nearby workers, and how the asbestos material was disposed of and requesting that this County' s Health Officer receive copies of any such documents. 3 . Request the Health Services Director to write to Governor Deukmejian requesting inspection information on the U. S. Steel asbestos removal project from CAL-OSHA, and pointing out the need for CAL-OSHA to be continued as an agency of state government. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE X APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(SI: Sunne W. McPea Tom Torlakson ACTION OF BOARD ON March 1 , 1988 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS 1 HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE X UNANIMOUS (ABSENT ! AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. cc: Listed on Page 3 ATTESTED _ 9 Sf- PHIL BATCHELOR. CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR M382/7-83 BY ,c�.� DEPUTY a Page 2 4. Request the Health Services Director to write to Congressman George Miller providing all information currently available on the asbestos removal at U. S. Steel in 1986 , and requesting his assistance in obtaining all available records in the possession of the C. H. Heist Corporation and any federal agencies. which will assist the Board of Supervisors in determining whether any safety violations occurred. This letter should also ask whether the C. H. Heist Corporation was licensed as a specialist in asbestos removal. 5 . Request the Health Services Director and. County Counsel to determine what laws now regulate the removal of asbestos from industrial buildings like U. S. Steel, whether the state has preempted local government in terms of regulating the removal of asbestos from industrial buildings, including protecting the health of nearby workers. If such preemption has not occurred, to outline those areas in which the County could assume jurisdiction to regulate worker safety and protection of the public health in the area of asbestos Z removal and disposal. 6 . Request the Health Services Director to write to the East County Council of Industries and the West County Council of Industries asking for their cooperation in asking their members to agree to voluntarily notify the County Health Officer in advance when. any asbestos removal work is taking place on their property. 7 . Request that all responses to the above recommendations be reported to our Committee by the Health Services Director on March 28, 1988. 8 . Leave this item on referral to our Committee. BACKGROUND: Our Committee has had on referral for some time a request for an investigation into any problems which might have occurred during the removal of asbestos material from the U. S. Steel plant in Pittsburg in late .1985 and early 1986. Our Committee has received preliminary information on this subject from the Health Services Director. At our meeting on February 22, 1988 our Committee received a report dated January 22 , 1988. This report identifies the firm that performed the asbestos work at U. S. Steel, the C. H. Heist Corporation of Brunswick, Ohio. What is not clear to us from this report are answers to the following questions: ( 1 ) Did the law in 1985-86 require notification of any public agencies that asbestos removal work was going to take place? ( 2 ) Were any such reports made? ( 3 ) Is there any evidence that workers in the immediate area of the asbestos removal work were warned of the potential danger of the work and/or provided any protective clothing or breathing apparatus? ( 4) Have the records of the work done at U. S. Steel been retained by any of the public or private agencies which should have had those records? ( 5) Was the C. H. Heist Corporation licensed in California to do asbestos removal work? Page 3 ( 6 ). Was U. S. Steel licensed to haul and dispose of asbestos waste? ( 7 ) What. was the state of the law in California on each of these issues at the time the U. S. Steel project was undertaken? We are concerned not only with what transpired at U. S. Steel in 1985-86 and whether the health of any of the workers was threatened, but also with whether the state of the law has . changed and whether the surveillance by the appropriate regulatory agencies has improved sufficiently in the time since 1986 that these questions need not go unanswered in the future. We have, therefore, made the above recommendations. Our Committee intends to follow up on this incident and to determine h whether the County has any room within existing law to better regulate and inspect asbestos removal in the County. cc: County Administrator Earl MacIntyre, USS-POSCO Steve Roberti , Central Labor Council Greg Feere, Bldg. & Construction Trades Council County Counsel Health Services Director Public Health Director Environmental Health Director