Montoya said he has been on projects where there were only two showers for 45 workers. At lunchtime, workers get little more than 30 minutes to undress, shower, dress in clean clothes, leave containment, eat and dress again. The hygienic issue is no longer an issue. If workers have no place to shower and change, they can end up taking asbestos-contaminated clothes home. Another commonly ignored safety regulation, workers say, is the requirement to shut off electricity in work areas.
Electrocution is a risk when water is used to minimize asbestos dust.
To prevent shocks, electricity is supposed to be provided by special lines protected by ground-fault interrupters. Worker Marcelino Analuisa said he nearly died when he touched a live electrical wire on a 1993 asbestos job. He was released from the hospital after two days but was hospitalized for another two days when he lost consciousness a week later. Unable to find asbestos-removal work since, Analuisa has been living on workers' compensation and his wife's earnings. Workers say contractors can ignore safety rules because government regulators rarely make surprise visits or enter containment areas to do a thorough inspection.