Follow-up Inspection Finds Leaded Workers, Prompts – Massive Penalty

SAN FRANCISCO - Labor Secretary Robert Reich recently proposed a $5 million penalty, the largest single-employer construction penalty to date, against E. Smalis Painting Co. of Pittsburgh, PA, for egregious violations of the lead-in-construction standard.OSHA inspectors found that Smalis employees removing lead-based paint from the Route 366 bridge over the Allegheny River at Tarentum, PA, were exposed to levels of airborne lead nearly 700 times the permissible exposure limit for construction workers.