CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) – A maintenance worker in Yellowstone National Park said a park concession company retaliated against him after he reported that he and five other employees were exposed to asbestos at a more than century-old lodge.
Jon Kline told The Associated Press on Monday that Xanterra Parks & Resorts began giving him poor reviews and declined to renew his contract after he reported the incident last March. Kline said he has filed an employee retaliation claim that is still pending.
“We were just told, ‘It’s safe, don’t worry about it,'” Kline said of his exposure while a crew worked on steam lines wrapped in asbestos at the Old Faithful Inn. “It was pretty egregious, in my opinion.”
All asbestos was cleaned up by a certified company before the hotel opened to guests in May, Yellowstone spokeswoman Amy Bartlett said. The inn ranks among the world’s biggest log structures and is one of the most dramatic and recognizable hotels in the national park system.
The exposure resulted in four workplace safety citations against Xanterra, which paid $15,300 in fines last September. Six workers wearing insufficient safety gear, including inadequate respirators, were exposed to the substance that can cause lung cancer if inhaled, Wyoming Occupational Safety and Health Administrator John Ysebaert said.