(TheRedWire.com) – Landfill and Waste collection workers have requested compensation for being exposed to toxic chemicals during a clean-up in California’s Napa following the 2020 Glass wildfire. In response, a former local mayor has alleged that his previous warning to leaders, including Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Gov. Gavin Newsom, had been ignored for years.
The group of workers has alleged that they faced retaliation and racial discrimination after they stated that the Clover Flat Landfill, which has political connections, could potentially cause pollution to the air and water of the famous wine region. Newsom and Pelosi both own vineyards in the area.
The complaint the group sent to California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health has included the group’s request for $300 million in restitution to be provided from the landfill and Upper Valley Disposal Services.
One of the group members, Jose Garibay Jr., a former supervisor at the landfill, argued that they did not have the proper experience or protocols for handling situations like this. He further asserted that they had yet to be trained before being sent to clean up after the fire.
Garibay revealed to Fox Business that the cleanup exposed them to gas methane and leachate water. He argued that he and his 15-man crew needed training on handling possibly hazardous material and that they had only been given N95 masks and no other equipment. He argued that following the fire, the company had taken advantage of their inexperience and made them go out to clean.
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