Inspection Detail

Inspection: 119893295 - Alliance Financial Services

Inspection Information - Office: San Bernardino District Office

Investigation Summary

On April 21, 1994, suite 211 in an office building was being painted. The painter had used a product called "Frazee Kill and Seal" for the first time to seal pre-existing wallpaper before other wallpaper was applied. Less than one gallon was estimated to have been applied before the occupants of Suites 217 and 218 returned from lunch at 12:45 p.m. Although no fumes were smelled in the hall, intense fumes were encountered when they entered the office. Although the painter was asked to stop, he reportedly refused; the building overseer, however, later reported that the painter had stopped painting at his request at approximately 1:15 p.m. One of the employees in Suite 218 began to feel sick, and the Hemet Fire Department was called at approximately 1:55 p.m., arriving at 1:58 p.m. Employees #1 through #12, from Suites 217 through 218 and from the Bank of Hemet, on the ground floor, were treated by the Hemet Fire Department. Employees #2, #8 and #9 were taken to the Hemet Hospital, where they were treated and released. Employees #9, #10, and #12 sought further medical treatment after the incident, although nothing remarkable was found by the two examining doctors. Neither the painter nor other construction workmen at the site were affected. Painting fumes apparently traveled from Suite 211 to Suite 218 by means of heating ducts. It is less clear how the fumes traveled to Suite 217 or the ground floor offices. A citation alleging a general violation will be issued to the painting contractor for the lack of a written respirator program although respirators were not used at this work site and both of his employees indicated that respirator usage was uncommon.

Keywords: VENTILATION, WORK RULES, INHALATION, OVEREXPOSURE, VAPOR, PAINT