Bellevue - Wade's being sued

[ATCclears]

State fines Bellevue gun shop $23K for exposing staff to lead | The Today File | Seattle Times

 

[MarkAd]

Looking like the tin man. ummm what was it the tin man wanted? Oh yes A BRAIN,

 

[nwbobber]

I don't know what you all do for a living, but I spent 30 years in construction, and have been in all kinds of situations where the chemical hazards were not obvious to me, and I was not told what to do to prevent injury to myself. I am not ignorant, nor am I stupid. I have been told that stuff is just water, won't hurt you, next day my work boots were contaminated with a chemical that made my feet go numb. I was told to throw my boots away, no offer to pay for them. If any one needs to be babysat it is the employers, as they will not comply with the law unless the penalties are a real threat. Not everyone is a gun enthusiast, and has heard about lead poisoning, and how you can get it. You should be trained before you work in a hazardous area, and that is also the law. It sounds like these guys (the ironworkers) were not even given the proper type of respirator, let alone clothing. They were taking their filthy lead contaminated clothing home to their kids.

 

[hermannr]

Two things stick out in this thread. (now granted, I am a former employer, now retired) but my understanding of L&I law in WA, the employee cannot sue the employer, they must sue L&I...and L&I can fine the employer if they are, in fact, in violation. That is the whole thing that keeps L&I in business...that protection of the employer from employee law suits.

The second thing is: I would think that the gun range would have hired a contractor and not done it themselves. There is an indication in the news story that a contractor was involved...so...that being the case, the gun range should be double isolated from those that were supposedly injured.

Interesting, but as in most things reported in the news...details are missing...a lot of details.

 

[deen_ad]

Worked for the state of WA for 30 years. When we tested asphalt for oil content we used carbon tet to wash the rock. Then we used it to wash our hands. Now they're determined is harmful to humans over long exposure.
Used to do bridge construction inspection, that included being down in the foundation caissons while they drove pilings. No hearing protection was ever mandated. Now I have a severe hearing loss due to the noise. Gee, I get "free" hearing aids and batteries for life. Of course they are the cheapest available and really don't work very well. If I want to upgrade to a better pair they won't allow it, I'd lose all my benefits if I did. First pair my wifes insurance bought, they were about $6,000 15 years ago.
I also have MS, is it a result of the carbon tet? No way to know at this stage.


Deen
NRA Life Member, Benefactor Level
Second Amendment Foundation Member
Washington Arms Collectors Member
Arms Collectors of SW Washington Member

 

[ATCclears]

<broken link removed>



The state Department of Labor and Industries has cited a Bellevue firing range for 17 violations of health and safety rules in the wake of a lead-salvage and construction project that exposed dozens of workers to high levels of toxic lead.

L&I fined Wade's Eastside Gun Shop $23,480 after a six-month investigation of one of the most extensive incidents of workplace lead exposure in recent memory in Washington state.

The fines were announced Tuesday.

The alleged violations included failing to conduct adequate air monitoring during "mining" of lead bullet fragments from a sand berm, failing to ensure exposed workers' blood was regularly tested, sweeping up rather than vacuuming bullets and lead dust, and failing to make sure workers wore fit-tested respirators.

Eleven of the violations were labeled serious, four of them repetitions of safety violations the state found in 2010.

Wade Gaughran, owner of the gun range on Bel-Red Road, could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening. He has 15 business days to appeal the citations, which were issued Friday.

L&I spokeswoman Elaine Fischer said the violations were unusually serious because a "large number" of workers were affected and because the concentrations of lead in some workers' blood "were really high."

The lead exposures occurred mostly between last September and November, as Wade's employees mined a sand berm and construction workers added a second floor to the gun range.

The business stayed open during construction.

Forty-seven employees of the gun range and construction firms had elevated blood-lead levels, and 24 reported symptoms consistent with lead poisoning, according to a summary report by Public Health &#8212; Seattle & King County.

One worker, who had three times the allowable blood-lead level, suffered cramps and frequently vomited at work, according to other workers.

Three children and two women living with workers also tested positive for excess lead, possibly because the workers carried lead home on their clothes and tools.

A public-health official said in February they were concerned about the exposure because it has long been known that lead can damage the nervous system, kidneys, cardiovascular system and gastrointestinal system.

"It is a large number" of exposed workers, Fischer said, "because there were gun-range workers and construction workers all in there working in the place where the lead dust was being disturbed and the controls weren't in place to clear it out."

L&I investigated seven employers, including construction contractors, and found no lead-related violations for some. Probes of other employers on the site, including general contractor S.D. Deacon, should be completed soon, Fischer said.

Fourteen former Wade's employees and a former employee of a contractor, Mechanical Control Services, have sued Wade's, claiming they received no lead-safety training, their work "was largely unsupervised by any qualified personnel" and they were issued substandard protective safety gear "that frequently ripped and fell apart."

The Wade's employees claim they were fired or laid off in retaliation for having their blood tested and, in some cases, reporting their concerns to government agencies.

Gaughran said in February there was no merit to the employees' claims. He said his workers were issued protective suits and respirators recommended by L&I inspectors.

Patrick Reddy, a lawyer for two former employees of subcontractor Brooks Steel Fabrication, said they also plan to sue Wade's, which he said didn't have insurance coverage for lead exposure because of its previous compliance problems.

Keith Ervin: 206-464-2105 or [email protected]

 

[Cougfan2]

A lot of the work I do involves electrical safety on the job. OSHA compliance is all about documentation.

If Wade's did not have a written electrical safety plan documenting specific training on hazardous materials safety in the workplace and can't prove they provided such training and enforced safety procedures, they are hosed.

 

[JAFO]

So all of the workers got paychecks from Wade's? Or did some get paid by the contractor or subcontractors? Were any of the subcontractors union? Doesn't union training involve knowing about the environment you are working in or instruct you to avoid it until you do?

I worked in some nasty stuff when I was young and paying union dues. My employer provided paper suits and masks for when we had to empty out dust hoppers and sludge tanks. I know the teamsters local I was a member of didn't provide any information or require any training for my job but I thought it was different with trade unions these days.

 

[nwbobber]

Trade unions may or may not provide the training required. It would be a nightmare to expect they would be trained for every conceivable situation, my union required the employer to pay for safety training required for a specific jobsite. We were trained (by the union)in safety procedures specific to our work, and all the usual hazardous material communication, lockout tagout/ energy control stuff. I came across lead pipe and pipe joints in my work, (some of that lead became projectiles) which I was never trained for, times have changed, and more and more even a small amount of exposure requires training to be in compliance with the law. Lead abatement requires a certification, and recordkeeping, and I believe that if it was being done properly, any exposure that these employees had that would be likely to cause injury would have been documented without going to the state to report a violation. It is not enough to just provide the equipment, you have to control it's use, and provide training in it's proper use. Additionally you have to control airborn material, and your waste stream(with documentation).

Washington law holds the owner of the building, or the generator of the waste, ultimately responsible for disposing of the waste properly. If they thought hiring the contractor, took that responsibility away they were mistaken.