Workers Exposed to Lead Hazards Receive $7.5 Million Settlement

Late last year, a company operating a shipyard in Wisconsin settled the first of three lawsuits brought against it for exposing workers to lead hazards. The settlement will pay $7.5 million to the 60 workers involved in the suit.
 
Back in 2016, inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) became involved in the case after receiving complaints about unsafe working conditions. Testing at that time found 14 workers with lead levels up to 20 times the exposure limit and some workers had also been exposed to other heavy metals while retrofitting a ship’s engine room. Later testing of more than 120 additional employees showed that more than 75% of them had elevated blood lead levels.
 
That year, the agency proposed $1,395,000 in penalties for the shipyard operator and cited 14 willful egregious health violations for each instance of overexposing a worker to lead. OSHA also cited five additional willful violations for failing to conduct monitoring to assess employee exposure to lead, failing to implement a lead compliance program or a respiratory protection program for lead, and for failing to provide training on lead and asbestos hazards. The dollar figure was later reduced to $700,000 when the company agreed to adopt a new safety plan.
 
“This case highlights the fact that occupational exposure to lead is still an ongoing issue for too many workers,” said Dirk Yamamoto, PhD, CIH^® and Chair of ABIH^®. “The acute and chronic health effects of lead exposure have been studied for many years and workers and communities need to be safeguarded against lead poisoning through training, monitoring, personal protective equipment, and other proven controls.”
 
Whether exposure risks are from lead-based paints or due to other sources, Certified Industrial Hygienists^® are uniquely qualified to help identify and mitigate exposure risks while implementing and managing occupational health and safety programs to protect workers and communities. CIHs are trained and experienced in workplace assessments, community exposure, air sampling, toxicology, risk analysis, hazard communication, engineering controls, and personal protective equipment. These and other areas of expertise required to become a CIH^® are critical for their ability to establish or maintain a safe and healthy work environment. The services of CIHs are also instrumental for companies and institutions to avoid costly noncompliance penalties, lawsuits, medical costs, employee turnover, and poor public relations.
 
To learn more about the American Board of Industrial Hygiene^®, the Certified Industrial Hygienist^® credential, or to locate a CIH^® to perform industrial hygiene services, please visit www.ABIH.org or email abih@ABIH.org . For information about the Qualified Environmental Practitioner credential or Environmental Professional In-Training designation, visit www.IPEP.org or email ipep@IPEP.org .  Please call (517) 321-2638 for questions about ABIH^® or its credentials and designations.
 
About the American Board of Industrial Hygiene ^®
Since 1960, ABIH^®, a not-for-profit corporation, has been the world’s largest organization for certifying professionals in the practice of industrial hygiene. ABIH^® is the premier credentialing body responsible for ensuring high-quality certification including education, experience, examination, certification maintenance, and ethics enforcement. ABIH^® also administers the Qualified Environmental Professional (QEP^®) credential for established environmental practitioners and the Environmental Professional In-Training (EPI) designation for early-career practitioners. Currently, more than 7,600 people around the world hold the CIH^® credential, QEP^® credential, or EPI designation. 
 

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