Probe Faults Asbestos Cleanup of S.D. Ship

A San Diego-based ship repair company faces federal charges after employees complained to naval investigators that they and hundreds of sailors had been exposed to asbestos when workers removed the cancer-causing substance from the aircraft carrier Ranger.

After an eight-month investigation by the Naval Investigative Service, charges were filed Monday against California Marine Commercial Insulation Inc. and company president Frank Chavez, alleging that the company knowingly failed to ensure that workers took proper precautions as they removed more than 260 feet of pipes covered with dry, crumbling asbestos.

“For Frank Chavez and CMCI, this was a crime of greed,” said Clifford D. Link, an NIS assistant special agent in charge of the regional fraud unit. “They were in it to make a buck and it was not a consideration if they exposed people to unhealthy levels of asbestos.”

CMCI workers, often with no protective clothing or respirators, ripped out friable asbestos in bathrooms, berthing areas, stairways, and the brig of the ship while sailors used those areas, employees told NIS investigators. Workers toted dust-laden pipes through bunk and kitchen areas. They also piled up the insulating material on pallets in the hangar deck, leaving it loose until the pallet filled, then dumping it into a pier-side dumpster--all violations of procedures since the actions could have allowed the release of fibers into the air, the employees said.

“I was issued an arbitrary death sentence in the name of someone else’s pocketbook,” Mike Calahan, one former pipe fitter, told The Times. “It was ‘do the job or we get someone else to do it.’ ”

As he worked in the berthing area for sailors in the engineering department, Calahan said there were no signs posted--as required by law--indicating that asbestos was being removed. Calahan said he told some sailors that the material on the pipes was probably asbestos.

“They didn’t know anything,” he said.

Employees complained to the NIS, prompting the investigation, which culminated in criminal charges filed this week by the U.S. Attorney.

But Chavez denied any wrongdoing and said that all the work conducted aboard the aircraft carrier followed regulations. And workers, he said, were given protective gear.

“I can honestly say that as far as any removals were done, they were done according to rules and regulations,” said Chavez, who is also the owner of CMCI. “All the work I did here was properly done. I don’t want to answer any more questions.”

Asbestos, banned in 1979 for most construction uses, can cause lung cancer and asbestosis, a fatal lung ailment. Asbestos, experts say, is dangerous if it is inhaled into the lungs, though onset of disease may take anywhere from 10 to 40 years.

Aboard the Ranger, asbestos dust from all the renovation work was widespread, some employees complained to the NIS. The carrier, which would carry about 5,000 sailors while at sea, would have had about 2,800 aboard while docked.

“We’re talking about dust laying throughout sections of the ship--the brig, berthing areas, third deck, second deck. It was everywhere, hideously,” said a former CMCI worker who requested anonymity. “Every sailor, every civilian who walked through would have been exposed to asbestos.”

CMCI and Chavez were hired by Pacific Ship Repair & Fabrication to remove and replace 1,100 feet of asbestos-covered pipes aboard the Ranger. Chavez is the father-in-law of Pacific Ship’s owner David Bain and he is also an employee of Pacific Ship.

Pacific Ship and David Bain, a former campaign treasurer to Mayor Maureen O’Connor, have been under investigation by NIS, the federal grand jury and the FBI for allegedly submitting fraudulent billings to the Navy.

After interviewing more than a dozen current and former CMCI workers, NIS officials were able to piece together how CMCI employees were removing the insulating material that contained between 30 to 50 percent amoscite asbestos, according to tests. Work on the ship took place intermittently last winter when the Ranger docked at North Island Naval Air Station.

To prevent asbestos fibers from being released into the air, officials require a slew of measures to contain the hazardous fibers and protect workers. Asbestos must be wetted when exposed and sealed in containers bearing warnings. When bagged, it should be doubled-bagged. The material must be taken to a specially designated landfill. Companies are also required to provide the EPA with a written notice describing the asbestos removal. Aboard the Ranger, however, these procedures were allegedly flouted.

According to court documents, CMCI and Chavez “did knowingly renovate the USS Ranger in violation of the asbestos work practice standards and thereby caused asbestos to be emitted in violation of asbestos standards.”

Alerted to the investigations launched by NIS and the U.S. Attorney’s office, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration sent inspectors aboard the Ranger last March, after the asbestos abatement was completed, and cited Pacific Ship for three serious violations, which each carry a $1,000 fine. These violations did not relate to asbestos removal work but other workplace hazards. Pacific Ship, however, is contesting the violations.

“All violations that were classified as serious by OSHA means either death or physical injury could result from the cited item,” said Jack Rhodes, an OSHA area director.

And because of recent inquiries by The Times, OSHA inspectors returned to the carrier this week, to continue inspections, sources said.

The Navy has a monitoring arm--the Supervisor of Ships Building, Conversion and Repair--that is responsible for preparing contracts and overseeing work conducted on vessels. The supervisor sends inspectors out to ships to ensure that all work is done correctly. In the Ranger’s case, however, officials said they were unaware of any mishap.

“I have no idea about there being any problem anywhere,” said Capt. Vern Edwards, supervisor of the overseeing arm--who added that he knew of the investigation conducted by the U.S. Attorney and NIS. “I guess my responsibility as a supervisor is to ensure to the best of our ability that what we asked for in the contract is being executed in accordance with the contract. As far as any irregularities or the possibility of irregularities, I can tell you the U.S. Attorney is investigating.”

In the weeks and months ahead, what Edwards and his inspectors knew and what they should have known could become important issues, especially if the Navy and CMCI employees choose to sue for damages.

CMCI, charged with violating the Clean Air Act and Asbestos Work Practice standards, could be fined $25,000, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Melanie K. Pierson. Chavez, who is being charged as an accessory, could face a $12,500 fine and six months in jail, she said. The case will be one of the first to utilize the federal sentencing guidelines, she said. Pierson declined to elaborate on the case, saying a press conference was scheduled for Friday.

Navy officials said they would be working closely with the U.S. Attorney’s office, as well as the Navy’s own legal system, the Judge Advocate General. Navy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Bob Pritchard said he was not yet certain what course the Navy would take.

“The health and welfare of our people is of primary importance,” Pritchard said. “But I don’t want to start a panic. This could have affected no one other than the workers involved.”