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A Chicago-based masonry repair contractor with a history of OSHA violations faces $196,000 in proposed penalties for exposing workers to excessive amounts of lead at a jobsite in the city.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Waclaw Cilulko, d/b/a American Masonry Inc., for seven alleged “willful” health violations of OSHA’s lead rules.
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Cilulko operates several Chicago-area masonry companies that have been subject to 39 OSHA inspections since 1978, resulting in 137 cited violations, OSHA says.
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Willful violations are those committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health, according to the agency.
D+D News' attempts to reach the company for comment were unsuccessful.
Lead Exposures
In May, OSHA inspectors found Cilulko's workers without proper protective gear performing abrasive blasting of walls and columns coated with lead-based paint at a commercial building site in Chicago. The building houses several art studios.
OSHA said American Masonry’s violations, carrying fines of $28,000 each, involve the failure to
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Implement a written lead compliance program;
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Provide personal protective equipment;
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Provide clean changing rooms or separate storage facilities for protective work clothing to prevent cross-contamination with street clothes; and
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Vacuum and remove lead dust from the work site.
The company was also cited for failing to implement a medical surveillance program (including initial monitoring and biological monitoring such as blood sampling) for all employees exposed to lead and a respirator-protection program that includes fit testing and training, OSHA said.
“When employers such as American Masonry knowingly ignore health requirements, they are unduly placing their workers at risk for illnesses, and that is unacceptable,” said Nick Walters, OSHA’s regional administrator in Chicago. “Lead exposure can cause serious neurological damage, among other illnesses.”
Citation-Riddled Past
American Masonry performs masonry repair and stone setting, according to OSHA.
The company’s owner, Cilulko, operates several similar companies in the Chicago area that have been subject to 39 OSHA inspections since 1978, resulting in 137 cited violations, the agency reported.
In 2010, for example, the company settled citations involving four serious violations for $2,310. The violations in that case involved the failure to abide by OSHA’s fall protection rules.
OSHA said the companies operate under the following names:
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American Masonry Concepts Inc.;
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American Masonry & Supply Inc.;
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America’s Best Masonry Inc.;
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All American Masonry Inc.; and
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American Masonry & Stucco Inc.
American Masonry has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with Walters, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
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