A majority of workers undergoing cleanup efforts in the Eaton Fire burn zone are not wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), like masks and Tyvek suits, according to a new report from the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON).
California requires employers to provide PPE and ensure workers are wearing it properly during fire cleanup because of the health risks associated with handling ash and fire debris.
The Day Laborer Network, which has an office in Pasadena, worked with the University of Illinois - Chicago to conduct a survey of the burn zone. On May 7 and 9, researchers drove down every street in Altadena, stopping at 240 active sites to visually survey what kind of protective gear more than 1,200 workers were wearing.
While 73% of workers wore hardhats, only 20% wore a respirator mask, 18% wore safety glasses, 24% wore gloves, and 9% wore Tyvek suits — which are necessary in very hazardous conditions.
“The use of PPE is not sufficient in this burn zone and it’s putting workers at risk,” says Nik Theodore, the report author and director of the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois - Chicago.
Urban areas scorched by wildfires are known to leave behind a hazardous mix of contaminants and carcinogens like lead, formaldehyde, and asbestos, Theodore says. Long-term exposure to these substances can have serious health implications.
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Pablo Alvarado, co-executive director of NDLON, says the scale of the destruction following the fires is often compared to 9/11. He says he doesn’t want to see cleanup workers in LA County get sick and die like they did after the terrorist attack.
“I cannot conceive the idea of seeing people that I know telling me in five or 10 years, ‘I have cancer because I went in without the proper PPE,’” Alvarado says.
Now, he is calling on local and state officials to join his organization in ensuring worker safety during the recovery and rebuilding process. The report includes a number of recommendations including better access to professional safety training programs for workers and their employers, and more work site inspections in the burn zones — not to punish violators, but to encourage the proper use of gear.