THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2024
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined a Rhode Island painting company over $60,000 after an investigation found that it failed to protect workers from lead paint exposure while recoating a parking garage last fall.
DR Colors LLC, a company with addresses in Rhode Island and Florida that professes to do lead renovation work, had reportedly been hired to recoat and refinish the multi-level parking garage across from the Providence Performing Arts Center.
What Happened
The Boston Globe reports that the company came under investigation in September, after representatives from the painters and trades unions visited the worksite. Afterwards, they notified federal and state authorities about possible lead paint exposure.
According to union representatives, as well as videos taken at the site, there were plumes of dust rising from sandblasting the garage.
The workers for DR Colors, a non-union company, were reportedly not wearing protective gear, and efforts to contain the worksite were “so poor” that dust spilled into the air inside and outside the garage.
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The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined a Rhode Island painting company over $60,000 after an investigation found that it failed to protect workers from lead paint exposure while recoating a parking garage last fall. |
The union representatives added that they applied lead-paint test sticks to the garage beams that were about to be sandblasted. The applicators immediately turned positive for lead paint.
The OSHA investigation reportedly led to seven violations, including failure to assess the workers’ exposure to lead paint, as well as failing to provide protective equipment, including respirators.
DR Colors did not contest OSHA’s findings, so the citation became a final order on Feb. 6. Each of the seven violations carries a penalty of $8,595, totaling $60,165 in fines.
This is the second time that OSHA has investigated DR Colors. A complaint was reportedly filed against the company in September 2022 alleging that it didn’t properly protect its workers from falls at a job site in Tiverton, Rhode Island.
DR Colors Owner Glenn Stapans did not respond to requests for comment from The Globe.
Additionally, the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training is investigatin possible labor violations, and the Department of Environmental Management is investigating environmental violations.
Justin Kelley, business representative of International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 11, said that he wanted to see accountability from the state for the workers and the public.
“I’m thoroughly disappointed our state agencies lack the ability to engage in a timely fashion around what is a clearly documented physical hazard to all people downtown,” Kelley said. “It was a clear and present danger allowed to go on.”
The work on the garage was halted with the investigations last fall. Lisa Garabedian Regan, the President and CFO of garage owner Bliss Properties, said that her company plans to seek new bids this spring from companies to finish the rest of the work.
Tagged categories: Civil Penalty; Enforcement; Exposure conditions; Good Technical Practice; Health & Safety; Health and safety; Lead; Lead; OSHA; OSHA; Paint Exposures; Parking Garages; Program/Project Management; Sandblasting; Violations; Workers
