State Suspends License of Asbestos Removal Firm

In the first action of its kind in the state, Cal/OSHA has suspended the license of a Los Angeles firm that was accused of putting untrained, ill-equipped laborers to work removing dangerous asbestos.

The ruling by Cal/OSHA, the state worker health and safety agency, comes as a burgeoning number of businesses and enforcement agencies have initiated legal action against asbestos makers and removal firms. When a building is remodeled, federal law requires removal of the insulating material that has been linked to lung diseases.

The ruling was made last week but has just become public. Cal/OSHA officials described the move as a first.

Dae Woo Engineering, a Los Angeles-based firm founded 13 years ago by engineer James Bong, said it has closed down its asbestos removal business and laid off about 20 employees as a result of Cal/OSHA’s decision to suspend the firm’s license until Oct. 15.

Dae Woo, which has performed asbestos removal work in everything from Army facilities to Mid-Wilshire high-rises, had been cited at least nine times for “serious” or “willful” violations of Cal/OSHA rules.

The violations included failing to adequately sample the air at work sites for asbestos particles, failing to properly train workers and failing to “make available, at no cost to the employees, comprehensive medical exams,” according to government documents.

“They were not willful violations,” said Bong, who blamed his company’s woes on a former project manager. The manager, along with other employees, notified authorities of the firm’s problems.

The project manager “was the one in charge,” Bong added, “so the problems were his fault. I corrected all the problems once they came to my attention.”

Frank R. Ciofalo, deputy chief for Health and Technical Services at Cal/OSHA, wrote in his ruling that “Bong failed to credibly account for his own part in these problems.”

Bong, whose firm is involved in demolition and construction-related business, said he plans to return to the asbestos removal business after his 90-day suspension.