Carpenter blows whistle on casino asbestos violationsLas Vegas, Nevada - The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)is currently trying to determine whether their Nevada counterpart understated the extent of asbestos contamination at the Flamingo Las Vegas hotel and casino, a property belonging to Caesars Entertainment, formerly known as Harrah’s Entertainment. It is believed that this was done to minimize the corporate owner’s potential legal liability.
The review was initiated after U.S. Rep. Walt Minnick, D-Idaho, received written notice from Chuck Gillenwater, a casino carpenter, asking for help after state officials rejected his complaint the regarding the inadequacy of 2007 state investigation. Asbestos is a highly toxic mineral used in pre-1980’s construction that can cause such fatal diseases as asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the protective lining of the heart, lungs, chest and abdomen.
Gillenwater believes that Nevada OSHA played down the extent of the asbestos contamination, even though it was in violation of safety regulations. In 2006, Harrah’s Las Vegas, a sister property, completed remodeling that entailed similar violations, yet Nevada OSHA did not classify the Flamingo exposures as repeat violations, which increases the fine.
Gillenwater also alleges that casino workers spread asbestos fibers outside of the Flamingo’s containment zones while hauling demolition debris to dumpsters. This means that not only were casino workers exposed, but so were patrons. Asbestos is a silent killer. Most people don’t realize they’ve even been exposed until they are diagnosed with mesothelioma forty years later. By that point is has often metastasized and is incurable. Even mesothelioma treatment only adds about six months to a patient’s life expectancy.
