Baltimore Officials Dismiss Asbestos Claims at Welfare Building
Baltimore, Maryland - Earlier this week, a Child Welfare Services building in Baltimore was reported to have an asbestos problem that might have exposed up to 350 state employees, as well as countless numbers of children who had visited the building.
Currently around 350 Maryland Department of Social Services employees are working in the building, which is on lease to the state.
According to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, over the weekend, outside maintenance contractors working at the building found suspected asbestos on pipes, and reported the presence of “active asbestos”. The workers alerted the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Administration to the potential danger on Monday 28 April.
City officials have said the allegations are not true, and have chalked the claims of asbestos up to an act of retaliation carried out by a contractor who was fired.
Interim Director of the Baltimore City Department of Social Services Brian Wilbon said “The allegation is by a disgruntled worker.” Wilbon also said there had been no positive identification of asbestos made anywhere in or outside the building. “There were several inspections by the EPA and local inspectors, and nothing has been identified as asbestos.”
A meeting was held after news of the alleged discovery was released, at which Wilbon reassured staff of the building that there was no danger in continuing to work there.
A letter issued by contractor A&E Mechanical Services said that none of its employees had made any claims of asbestos discovery. Company President Jay Austin wrote that the allegations might have been related to “a disgruntled employee and ex-partner of A&E Mechanical which were terminated during the course of this job.”
Employees have been complaining about dangerous conditions in the building since last summer, when a complaint was filed with the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Administration about water leaks and rodent infestations. The MOSH issued an extermination order but union officials say the agency didn’t continue with regular inspections as promised.
About the alleged asbestos discovery, Wilbon says there were no contractors working at the building over the weekend, and also that the building has been inspected two separate times over the past year, and asbestos was not found on either occasion. According to Wilbon the results of both of those inspections were presented to workers, and he would not hesitate to remove staff from the building if he believed that it was not safe to work in.
