Workers hired to demolish old Hershey plant claim they are being exposed to asbestos
Workers demolishing the Old Hershey Chocolate Plant say they’re facing health and safety hazards. They claim the company they work for ASI of Maryland, fails to meet federal requirements for asbestos removal.
In November, Derry Township officials approved a request to demolish portions of the Hershey Company’s old Chocolate Factory. But now workers hired to remove portions of the building are claiming they are needlessly exposed to the cancer causing substance asbestos.
Ernest Ojito spent a year in college working undercover and studying working conditions for asbestos workers and the dangers facing the public. He now works for the Labor International Union of North America on behalf of workers at the Hershey demolition.
Ojito says the company isn’t following procedure. “He says the first issue on the job site with the safety is that they are not wetting down the Asbestos. Asbestos needs to be wet down before you remove it.”
He calls this an industry-wide problem, contaminating workers and mis-classifying workers leading to lower wages.
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