The U.S. Postal Service could have to pay more than $49,000 in penalties after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration says its West Baden Springs office didn't take steps to protect employees from asbestos exposure.
OSHA cited the postal service for four repeat violations, including failing to provide asbestos awareness training for employees, failing to cleanup spills of asbestos-containing material, failing to use dry sweeping to cleanup spills and failing to label asbestos-containing materials.
According to OSHA, an employee was cleaning tile at the office in June that contained 15 percent chrysotile asbestos and was exposed to inhalation hazards. The agency was cited for a similar violation in 2015 at a Lafayette location.
OSHA is proposing a penalty of $49,720.