- Jul 29, 2001
- 15,201
- 10
- 81
What would you do?
I work in construction and we are currently doing a job at a government facility.
Most of the job is welded pipe. With the welding also comes a lot of cutting with a torch and grinding. Because of this, we use fire blanks for spark containment and to prevent fires.
Some fire blanket is brought out from our shop. It is old and full of holes. As we start hanging the blanket, one of my coworkers thinks some of this old blanket contains asbestos. I take a look at it and immediately bag and seal the suspicious material and call my office. I tell them what is going on and they tell me they are not sure what it is made of and probably not asbestos. I tell them this is unacceptable and to send out new blankets. My boss tells me he will get back to me.
About 30 minutes go by and I get a call telling me some new blankets are on the way. Meanwhile my partner is pretty pissed off that they would even send out this questionable blanket. We have decided to take a sample of the material in for testing. If it comes back positive for asbestos, he is considering legal action. When the new blanket arrives, my partner as tells the truck driver this too. About an hour later I get a call from the shop telling me to send the old blanket back to the shop.
I work for a small company which is very slow at upgrading tools and equipment. There is no use in complaining about it as it falls on deaf ears. Tools and ladders come out to the jobs missing guards, falling apart and should be taken out of service and repaired.
I believe it is the company?s responsibility to provide safe equipment and tools. They also need to provide the proper safety equipment which needs to be checked before being sent out to the job.
If you were in this situation, and it came back positive for asbestos, would you consider legal action?
I work in construction and we are currently doing a job at a government facility.
Most of the job is welded pipe. With the welding also comes a lot of cutting with a torch and grinding. Because of this, we use fire blanks for spark containment and to prevent fires.
Some fire blanket is brought out from our shop. It is old and full of holes. As we start hanging the blanket, one of my coworkers thinks some of this old blanket contains asbestos. I take a look at it and immediately bag and seal the suspicious material and call my office. I tell them what is going on and they tell me they are not sure what it is made of and probably not asbestos. I tell them this is unacceptable and to send out new blankets. My boss tells me he will get back to me.
About 30 minutes go by and I get a call telling me some new blankets are on the way. Meanwhile my partner is pretty pissed off that they would even send out this questionable blanket. We have decided to take a sample of the material in for testing. If it comes back positive for asbestos, he is considering legal action. When the new blanket arrives, my partner as tells the truck driver this too. About an hour later I get a call from the shop telling me to send the old blanket back to the shop.
I work for a small company which is very slow at upgrading tools and equipment. There is no use in complaining about it as it falls on deaf ears. Tools and ladders come out to the jobs missing guards, falling apart and should be taken out of service and repaired.
I believe it is the company?s responsibility to provide safe equipment and tools. They also need to provide the proper safety equipment which needs to be checked before being sent out to the job.
If you were in this situation, and it came back positive for asbestos, would you consider legal action?
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