8 Needed Medical Aid
Charge HA Exposed Workers to Hazard

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

Eight Housing Authority employees, two of whom lost consciousness, were sent to the hospital last week after being ordered to alleviate a sewage build-up without proper safety equipment.

GREGORY FLOYD: 'Corner-cutting risked lives.'

Three of the workers at Richmond Terrace Houses on Staten Island were told Nov. 5 to climb into a crawl space and pour lime powder on the raw sewage, which caused a dangerous chemical reaction.

'Put Lives in Jeopardy'

"These are Caretakers - they are supposed to be cleaning floors," said Teamsters Local 237 President Gregory Floyd. "If NYCHA had more funding, they wouldn't try to cut corners. This was a decision that was made that put lives in jeopardy."

As the fumes began to sting the men's eyes and burn their lungs, Glen Grauccio climbed out of the hole and radioed for help. Gregory Theimer also escaped but passed out as he emerged. Michael Tizaro lay unconscious inside the basement crawl-space until a group of co-workers went in and pulled him out.

Mr. Theimer and Mr. Tizaro, both new employees at HA who are in their probationary periods, told their business agent later that they were worried about refusing the order because of their job status. The three men were given white protective suits and wore only paper masks.

A spokesman for the HA stressed that although the agency faced budget difficulties, money was not the reason the men were asked to do the work. "The staff made a judgment call in how they were going to handle the situation," said Howard Marder, "and this was an unusual circumstance that could not have been anticipated."

Brought in Expert

Tenants had been complaining about the smell from the sewage back-up for two weeks. The lime powder was meant to get rid of the stench. A contractor who specializes in hazardous materials has since been called in to handle the situation.

Mr. Tizaro was hospitalized for three days. Mr. Theimer was initially released, but was told by doctors to return be cause his nose would not stop bleeding. Marilyn Melinda, one of the employees who helped rescue Mr. Tizaro, went back to the hospital Nov. 7 because she was having trouble breathing. When Local 237 Business Agent David Gonzalez got to the scene, the Fire Department had already arrived and was hosing down the members who had crawled in to pull out Mr. Tizaro. Some of them were not fully coherent after breathing in the fumes.

Rat Poison Found

When members of the FDNY entered the space, they wore protective gear and oxygen masks. They found 100 to 150 pounds of rat poison, which occupational health experts said could have played a role in producing the hazardous vapor.

"Management knew these two guys would not refuse the job," said Mr. Gonzalez. "Other workers were asked to go in, but they refused. Even with proper equipment, this is still out-of-title work."

HA officials claimed that staff are regularly used to alleviate sewage blockages.

Local 237 officials believe that budget reductions led management to try to cut corners by using the Caretakers to do a job that is usually performed by an outside contractor. In the spring, HA officials announced a budget deficit of $51.6 million and is planning to cut 500 jobs. The agency has lost $557 million in Federal funding since 2002.

Local 237 officials are meeting with the Labor Department on Nov. 14 to figure out next steps in the case.