Three employers at a Missouri residential nursing facility exposed workers and residents to asbestos hazards and failed to ensure safe removal of the known carcinogen during a flooring replacement project, a federal workplace safety inspection alleges. In January 2021, the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated an inspection at the Bentonview Park Health & Rehabilitation in Monett based on a referral from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. On Jan. 22, the state agency evacuated the facility’s residents — 31 days after flooring work began on Dec. 21, 2020. OSHA alleges Eastern Coast Management Inc., SRZ Mgmt Holdings LLC and SRZ OP Bentonview LLC failed to test for the presence of asbestos, did not erect protective barriers to contain residue and failed to use respiratory and personal protective equipment to prevent exposure. Bulk samples of tile backing and mastic collected at three locations in the facility indicated that between 45 percent and 51 percent of the samples contained chrysotile asbestos. OSHA inspectors allege that workers for the three employers removed about 10,000 square feet of floor tiles containing asbestos, and that none of the employers completed an asbestos assessment to determine its presence.
