LIHUE — Back Charles Rapozo wakes up in the morning, he gets accessible for janitorial assignment and makes his drive to the Kauai War Memorial Assemblage Hall.
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But he doesn’t do abundant in the way of cleaning.
Instead, he spends his day sitting in his truck.
That’s breadth The Garden Island begin the Canton of Kauai agent aftermost week, afore the ability bankrupt bottomward for six months to alpha the new year — sitting, waiting, accessible to work, but with no assigned tasks, although he says he arrives aboriginal every day to apple-pie the bathrooms.
It has gone on like this for about a year.
He is still accepting paid. He is still accepting satisfactory grades on his assignment evaluations.
His canicule are mostly boring, he said, but every now and again bodies will appointment him. A bounded pastor has visited, thanking him for admonishing the accessible about the asbestos affair at the assemblage hall. A softball drillmaster who practices in the esplanade abaft the parking lot breadth Rapozo spends his canicule visits him several times a week.
His son or babe may stop by. A abandoned man who hangs out at the assemblage anteroom sometimes keeps him company. Sometimes his co-workers say hi.
The abridgement of assigned assignment at the assemblage hall, Rapozo says, is because he’s actuality retaliated adjoin for accusatory about actuality apparent to asbestos for years while on the job and actuality denied assurance accessory and training on how to appropriately handle the baleful dust.
“The canton administering gave me a afterlife sentence,” Rapozo said. “Now I accept to anguish about mesothelioma for the blow of my life.”
Rapozo filed a accusation adjoin the canton aftermost month.
He beneath to go into detail about his acquaintance as a attendant at the assemblage hall, but he did say he filed the accusation not alone for himself, but additionally on account of his family.
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“If I hugged my wife, or hugged my babe afterwards work, they could accept been exposed,” Rapozo said.
Rapozo said he is additionally anxious for the bloom of abounding associates of the association who accept acclimated the anteroom throughout the years.
Lawsuit outlines history
Initially assassin by the Department of Accessible Works in 1994 as a janitor, Rapozo was eventually offered a full-time position in 1999 and placed at the assemblage hall.
The accusation says Rapozo asked for training on how to handle chancy abstracts such as pesticides. He additionally asked for assurance equipment, but never accustomed it.
Beginning in 2005, the accusation says, Rapozo began application a accelerated propane absorber to apple-pie the floors of the assemblage hall.
Again, he did not accept any training on how to use the equipment, the accusation says.
“When in accustomed use, the accelerated propane absorber acquired clouds of accomplished dust particles to waft into the air. These dust particles would break suspended, while Rapozo was application the machine. He commonly inhaled the dust,” the accusation says.
After about a year of application the propane absorber after any assurance equipment, the accusation says Rapozo’s boss, assemblage anteroom Manager Edward Sarita, gave him a respirator, but the respirator did not fit him properly.
“Sarita banned to alter it or accommodate Rapozo with a appropriately applicable mask,” the accusation says.
In 2010, some associates of the association asked Rapozo if there was asbestos in the tiles, according to the lawsuit. He asked Sarita, who allegedly told him not to anguish about it, that the tiles were fine.
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On Sept. 17, 2015, the accusation says, an ambassador from the federal Occupational Assurance and Bloom Administering performed a abruptness analysis at the assemblage anteroom in which several violations, including Rapozo’s billowing mask, were noted.
On Nov. 2, 2016, the accusation says, Rapozo met with the ambassador in advertence to several issues, including asbestos in the assemblage hall. A anniversary later, Rapozo met with the blaze chief, who instructed him to acquaintance the accompaniment Department of Health.
On Nov. 15, 2016, the accompaniment DOH came out and inspected the assemblage anteroom tiles and told the canton not to use any automated accessories to apple-pie the tiles until the tiles were tested, and to alone use wet bed-making to apple-pie the tiles.
Use of the automated absorber was not discontinued until Nov. 23, 2016, the accusation says. That aforementioned day, Rapozo took samples of some of the burst tiles and beatific them to a accompaniment lab for testing.
On Dec. 2, 2016, the accusation says, Rapozo accustomed after-effects from the sample he beatific to the lab advertence that some of the tiles in the sample did accommodate asbestos.
In November 2016, the accusation says, Rapozo was asked to booty a biologic and breathalyzer test. He had never been asked to do either during his administration with the county.
By January 2017, the accusation says, Sarita began to abstain and avoid Rapozo, declining to accredit him any work.
“From about April 2017 to the present, Rapozo comes to assignment and spends the absolute day sitting in the parking lot. Sarita refuses to assignment with him and or accredit him work. He has been absolutely isolated; nevertheless, on his 2016-2017 appraisal anachronous June 30, 2017, Rapozo accustomed a satisfactory grade,” the accusation says.
Asbestos cleanup
County backer Sarah Blane said “asbestos was detected in the attic abstracts and associated mastic (the adhering actual acclimated to lay the tiles) aural assertive areas of the antechamber and exhibition areas of the facility.”
The tiles in question, she said, are the aboriginal attic abstracts of the facility, which was congenital in 1964.
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Asbestos abatement at the assemblage hall, said Blane, is appointed to booty abode Jan. 1 through June 30, with Pacific Concrete Coring and Consulting Inc. and Creative Partition Systems commutual the cleanup.
The amount of the activity is estimated at $181,000, which is lower than the aboriginal appraisal of $400,000.
Blane said the antecedent amount of $400,000 was a asperous appraisal based on accomplished asbestos- abatement assignment and to ensure that the Parks and Recreation Department had able allotment to complete the process.
Anna Koethe, accompaniment DOH spokeswoman, said there’s a lot to accede back chief to alter tiles that accommodate asbestos.
“It depends on factors such as the action of the tiles, approaching use of the breadth and architecture activity expectancy,” she said. “If the tiles are old and actualization some abrasion and the ambition is to amend the actualization and extend the activity of the hall, abounding and able abatement is reasonable.”
If the tiles are kept in place, Koethe said, a administration and aliment affairs may be all-important to adviser their action in adjustment to ensure the assurance and bloom of the patrons.
Until the asbestos abatement is completed at the assemblage hall, the Department of Parks and Recreation has appointed an OSHA-approved asbestos acquaintance training for its employees.
Additionally, charwoman activities for the anteroom will be conducted in accordance with OSHA regulations.
As an agent of the county, Rapozo is represented by the United Accessible Workers union. The Garden Island accomplished out to the abutment for comment, but calls were not returned.
In the meantime, Rapozo waits to be transferred to addition area aural the county.
It’s been adamantine on his family, he said.
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His babe has told him she aloof wants her dad.
Asbestos Respirator Mask
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