The Washington Department of Labor & Industries cited Partners Construction Inc. for 14 willful and serious safety and health violations totalling $291,950 in fines for exposing workers to asbestos and illegally leaving asbestos debris on site. Partners Construction was hired to remove asbestos from a Seattle apartment building before demolition could be done. Partners Construction worked for several weeks before providing the building owner with a letter of completion noting all the asbestos had been removed.
However, the Department of Labor & Industries found that the removal work was incomplete. The Department of Labor & Industries revoked Partners Construction's certification to perform asbestos abatement work, and after being decertified the company later went out of business.
Asbestos Construction Management Inc. then took over the job, but another inspection found many of the same violations as Partners Construction. The company was cited with five willful and serious safety and health violations totalling $87,150 in fines. The Department of Labor & Industries has initiated decertification for Asbestos Construction Management as well. Asbestos Construction Management is owned by a family member of the Partners owner and used many of the same workers, supervisors and equipment that Partners used.
(more on the fines for asbestos exposure...)
