A federal labor agency has levied a fine against Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center for failing to adequately protect construction workers from asbestos exposure during a renovation project last year.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration ordered the medical facility to pay $110,000 in fines for failing to provide proper employee safeguards during a December renovation project in which workers handled materials containing asbestos.

Following up on a complaint from a hospital employee, OSHA’s investigation of the project determined that hospital workers removed material that contained asbestos from a steel ceiling beam without wearing respirators or proper protective clothing. The agency’s investigation also determined that workers on the project were not adequately informed about the hazardous nature of their work, nor did the medical facility do an adequate job of decontaminating workers’ clothing, monitoring asbestos levels on-site or disposing of materials containing asbestos. Prolonged exposure to asbestos can lead to lung diseases, including lung cancer and mesothelioma.

“There was a breakdown of essential precautions before, during and after this work and the sizable fines proposed here reflect the gravity of the hazard,” said Arthur Dube, OSHA’s area director in Buffalo. “The medical center’s failure to supply and ensure these basic and required safeguards placed these employees at risk of debilitating illness.”

OSHA issued the medical center 17 “serious” citations, carrying $85,000 in proposed fines for failing to monitor asbestos exposure levels during the work, not using designated asbestos control methods, failing to provide employees with protective clothing and respirators, improper disposal of materials containing asbestos and other work-site deficiencies.

In addition, the agency cited the medical center for one “repeat citation” for failing to notify employees of the presence, location and amount of asbestos-containing or potentially asbestos-containing materials in the work area. OSHA had cited the facility for a similar violation in April of 2006. “Repeat citations” carry fines of up to $25,000.

The hospital has 15 days from receipt of the citations to request and participate in an informal conference with OSHA or to contest them before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

In a statement released Monday, Memorial Medical Center officials said they do plan to request an informal conference with OSHA representatives to present information they believe will “support an adjustment to the citations and proposed penalties.”

“The medical center is committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace for all of its employees,” the hospital said in a statement released by spokesman Patrick Bradley. “Therefore, we cooperated fully with OSHA during the course of its investigation and began making the corrections suggested by that agency as soon as they brought this matter to our attention.

“In addition, we have enacted a number of measures to promote a more cohesive and comprehensive approach to employee safety on future projects.”

Contact reporter Mark Scheer at 282-2311, ext. 2250.