Charah’s subcontractors at the plant also are cause for alarm. ARC Abatement, Charah’s asbestos remediation contractor, has exhibited a rampant disregard for the kind of rigorous safety practices that are critical to completing this work in a manner that protects workers on-site and the surrounding community.¹¹

ARC comes to this asbestos abatement project with OSHA safety violation fines totaling almost $16,000.¹² ARC, a multi-million dollar company, has a record of cutting corners on basic asbestos containment practices like proper labeling ¹³ and disposal,¹⁴ exposing their workers and a Texas community to this toxic material.¹⁵ We cannot let them get away with that in Avon Lake. ARC’s indifference to safety goes hand in hand with its despicable labor standards. They are paying its workers as little as $16 per hour – half of area standards that our local union workers have fought long and hard to achieve for such hazardous work.

Charah’s demolition contractor, Trifecta Services, follows the same disturbing pattern. Tragically, this company’s appalling carelessness resulted in a worker’s falling death from a coal conveyor in Pennsylvania.¹⁶ Trifecta’s failure to establish a proper fall protection system,¹⁷ ensure stability of the steel structure,¹⁸ and provide adequate training ¹⁹ led to a fatality that should have never occurred. To review, both Charah and Trifecta have a track record of violating health and safety regulations and having workers tragically die on the job while ARC’s misconduct quietly exposed a deadly substance to communities and workers alike. Are these the kinds of companies we trust to operate in Avon Lake?