Inspection Detail

Inspection: 122411754 - Champion Environmental Services, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Milwaukee Area Office

Investigation Summary

Employees #1 through #10 were engaged in asbestos abatement work at a Sears retail store in a shopping mall. They were inside a 6,000 square foot containment with 14 foot ceilings, using a propane-powered floor scraper to remove the two layers of flooring and most of the mastic from the concrete subfloor. One employee was driving the scraper while others sprayed a wetting agent and shoveled the flooring into bags. After using the floor-scraping machine for approximately 3 hours, the employees began to experience nausea and dizziness. Emergency Services was called and all ten workers were transported to the hospital for evaluation and treatment. Their highest blood-gas readings were in the low 20s, but none suffered permanent injury. Two 2,000-cubic-foot-per-minute negative air machines were being used to evacuate air from the containment. The floor scraper was a Terminator 2, manufactured by the Innovatech Products and Equipment Company. It was designed to emit 40 parts per million of carbon monoxide at the tailpipe, but testing during the inspection showed that it was emitting 10,000 parts per million. The employer had been performing all maintenance on the Terminator 2 in-house, and he did not use an exhaust gas analyzer when tuning the engines, as required by the manufacturer.

Keywords: MAINTENANCE, VENTILATION, WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, INHALATION, NAUSEA, EXHAUST FUMES, ASBESTOS REMOVAL, CHEMICAL VAPOR, CARBON MONOXIDE