July 11, 2011 – Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspectors cited the Interfaith Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York with 14 violations of workplace safety and health standards. An OSHA inspection found that the hospital failed to provide adequate asbestos training for staff and employees in the engineering department who perform demolition and renovation. In addition, the Interfaith Medical Center allegedly failed to properly label asbestos-containing insulation and floor tile and allowed the disposal of asbestos-containing materials in the hospital dumpster. The inspectors also said that the hospital failed to inform outside contractors of the presence of materials potentially containing asbestos.
The OSHA inspectors issued citations for 10 serious violations. A serious violation is defined as one where there is a substantial probability that serious physical harm or death could result from a hazard that an employer knew about or should have known about. Proposed fines total of $48,000.00.