BALTIMORE — Baltimore City's Inspector General issued another scathing report into working conditions within the Department of Public Works.
The latest report zeroed in on these nine department facilities where mostly solid waste workers report to.
- Cherry Hill Yard 701 Reedbird
- Eastern Sanitation Yard 6101 Bowley’s Lane
- DPW Special Services Street Sweeping 111 Kane Street
- DPW Landfill 6100 Quarantine Road
- DPW Property Management 231 S. Kresson Street (DPW rents property)
- Sisson St. Drop-off Center 2840 Sisson Street
- DPW Inner Harbor/Downtown Operations 3311 Eastbourne Avenue (DPW rents property)
- DPW Northwest Transfer Station 5030 Reisterstown Road
- DPW Water and Wastewater Yard 2947 Washington Boulevard
Complaints about conditions at the Cherry Hill Yard were originally what got the Inspector General's attention.
RELATED: Cherry Hill DPW site failed to provide safe working conditions for employees amid high temperatures
A broken HVAC system, causing little to no air conditioning, and poor bathroom conditions consisting of only hot water coming from the sinks were among a long list of issues.
This prompted an initial report from the Inspector General earlier this month, but the problems apparently still exist with no fix in sight.
According to the report, some DPW employees experienced heat-related illnesses, with at least one passing out.
Some departmental vehicles also have non-working A/C.
"The OIG formally requests from DPW all records of heat-related illness training provided to its employees within the last three years," the Inspector General demanded.
Similar issues have been reported at the Bowley’s Lane and Kane Street Yards.
MORE: Baltimore Inspector General visits 9 DPW yards following reports of unsafe conditions in the heat
One point in the report that stands out is workers at Bowley's Lane have to ask for toilet paper before using the bathroom because men's stalls are not stocked with it.
"The toilet paper is stored in a storeroom with a supply employee," the Inspector General's report reads. "The OIG requests this practice stop immediately, and toilet paper be placed in the stalls for the solid waste workers and laborers."
Additionally the Inspector General uncovered a bunch of equipment that could help improve work conditions, that's just sitting around not being used.
"The OIG observed approximately twenty unopened boxes of ice chests and dozens of unopened insulated water dispensers," the report describes what they found during one spot inspection. "A supervisor stated that the insulated water dispensers did not fit on the newer garbage trucks and that some employees did not want them."
Facility showers happened to be one of those places used for storage purposes.
To read the full report, click here.
