Public Employee Press

Union raises alarm about toxic waste on Wards Island

A series of labor management meetings led the Dept. of Environmental Protection to take extra steps to protect Motor Vehicle Operators at the Wards Island Waste Water Treatment Plant's residual collections facility.

Local 983 MVOs operate Vactor trucks that vacuum sludge and slime from some 144,000 storm drains and catch basins around New York City. They transport the waste to Wards Island for processing and dehydration.

After MVOs complained to the union about the toxic substances that spill from the roll-off containers, the acrid fumes they inhale, and the moldy, poorly ventilated locker rooms they are assigned to, Blue Collar Council Rep Norlita De Taza filed a safety complaint.

DC 37 Safety and Health Dept.'s Jon Vandenburgh inspected the facility and uncovered several violations.

The smelly, slimy soup that splatters on MVOs when they open the container's rear hatch "is really nasty stuff," said De Taza. "It's not a pleasant job at all, and it's worse in warmer months."

Although MVOs wear protective coveralls, goggles and boots to hose down the trucks, they could slip in the muck. "No one wants to be sprayed with raw sewage, if they can avoid it," said De Taza.

"The stench smells of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide," Vandenburgh said. "While it is not a violation of a safety and health standard, DEP agreed to provide respirators with carbon filters."

The agency analyzed job hazards for a safer process that lets MVOs empty Vactor containers while minimizing exposure to splashes and spills. It agreed to supply eyewash kits for MVOs who transport sulfuric acid, and to clean up the facility's showers and locker rooms.

The union and management resolved the issue so it was not necessary for the union to file a grievance. "The union showed there is a better way to do the job and management took our suggestions for a workable solution," Vandenburgh said.

"We are glad the members are safeguarded from hazardous waste at their workplace, and we hope DEP continues to cooperate with us to improve work conditions," said Local 983 President Joe Puleo.

— Diane S. Williams