A former maintenance worker at Yellowstone National Park has filed a claim that he was retaliated against after he and five of his co-workers were exposed to asbestos while performing work at the iconic Old Faithful Inn. Speaking to the Associated Press, Jon Kline said that the employer, Xanterra Parks & Resorts, began giving him poor reviews following his complaint and eventually declined to renew his contract. Kline’s retaliation claim is still pending.
The asbestos was cleaned up before the hotel opened its doors last May, and Xanterra had to pay $15,300 in fines stemming from four workplace safety violations. According to Wyoming Occupational Safety and Health Administrator John Ysebaert, six workers were exposed to asbestos after the company failed to provide sufficient safety gear, such as proper respirators.
Kline said that the company waived off his concerns over the asbestos exposure: “We were just told, ‘It’s safe, don’t worry about it.’ It was pretty egregious, in my opinion.”
The Colorado-based Xanterra, a subsidiary of the Anschutz Corp., holds contracts to operate tourist facilities in several other national parks, including Crater Lake in Oregon, Death Valley in California, Grand Canyon in Arizona, and Zion in Utah.
The exposure occurred as work was being done to turn the heat on for the first time in the Spring. After pipes that had broken over the winter began spewing steam, the six workers tore into walls to reach the ruptures. Although they should have been informed of the asbestos, they were not, and were thus unknowingly exposed to the cancer-causing substance.
“They should have been aware of it, based on the age of the building and based on a database that exists,” Kline said. “Folks knew that there was asbestos in other rooms in that wing, so it was fair to think that there would be asbestos in the rooms that we worked in.”