As the deaths of workers at North East Linen of Linden, NJ and the death & grave injury to window-washing brothers fade from headlines, more facts come out.

Union County (NJ) Emergency Management Haz-Mat Chief Chris Scataro told me

he responded to N.E Linen site Dec. 1 at 3PM (1 hour after the 911 call) to give Linden NJ fire rescue teams technical data the contents of the tanks in which the two workers bodies were discovered. Although the tanks had already been ventilated by first-responders, Chief Scataro's readings showed Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) levels as high as 80% in the tank.

For those who remember their high school chemistry only dimly, H2S is a deadly, rotten-egg-smelling gas. Its presence in very high concentrations supports reports of sulfuric acid use in the tank. The levels reported by Chief Scataro, (800,000 ppm) are orders of magnitude over those considered deadly. Final cause-of-death reports from the Union County Coroners office are still awaiting toxicology reports according to Lt. Raymond Tyra of the Linden PD.

The NYC scaffold from which two brothers fell Friday had been cited for violations over and over again by the NYS Department of Labor. The NY Daily News report cites 10 violations while an AP Report counts 5 repeat and uncorrected violations. The NYC Building Department outlined the bizarre scheme which regulates scaffolds:

The New York State Department of Labor regulates these forms of scaffolds. The Buildings Department oversees Riggers Licenses and workers' Certificates of Fitness and is conducting its investigation.
Preliminary reports indicate that the swing scaffold (the permanent scaffold built on the roof as part of the building for window washing) failed.

Thus, each agency can blame another for insufficient enforcement. The buck just doesn't stop anywhere.

Sunday Update: Alcides Moreno, surviving window-washer, opened his eyes which follows earlier signs of improvement In the face of 22 scaffold deaths this year, SEIU Local 32 B-J called for NYC Council hearings to improve safety standards. The scaffold, an integral part of the building, was, I assume owned by the building owner. (For a discussion (from a management point of view) of liability for scaffold injury under NY's Labor Law click here ).

There are conflicting reports about the Moreno brothers employment. They had been, according the NYT, regular workers for the last three at the Soklow building from which they fell, but the Post quotes a Local 32B/J spokesperson as stating that that they were "moonlighting" there. The Post also got a statement from City-Wide owner Michael Hoszowski claiming thatthe scaffold was cleared for service. The Post interview is here Matthew Nerzig, SEIU 32B-J spokesperson confirmed that the Moreno brothers had regular 9-5 union jobs. He said it was common for window washer to have more than one gig.

Mr. Nerzig also said that 32B/J represents about 500 NYC window-washers and that the building had formerly been a union-organized shop. However, he said, management had terminated dealings with union window-washers.

Another death, Friday occurred at the Home-Depot site under construction in Pelham Manor when, George Leak, of Jamaica, Queens fell from the roof on his first day on the job. He leaves four children.