Roofing company owners arrested for alleged scam
The owners of roofing company All-Star Restoration, Jonesboro, Ark., have been arrested for allegedly defrauding customers who paid more than $250,000 to the business but never received services or refunds, according to K8 News. The company is not an NRCA member.
William and Melissa Herron are being held on $250,000 cash-only bonds after being charged with continuing a criminal enterprise; theft of $25,000 or more; theft of services for $25,000 or more; and obtaining a signature by deception.
Jonesboro police arrested the Herrons Oct. 30 after receiving reports from customers who said they paid for services that were not completed. During the investigation, the Jonesboro Police Department identified more than 50 customers who were solicited for roofing services.
According to the affidavit, the company’s sales representatives went door to door inspecting roofs and asking homeowners to sign contracts allowing All-Star Restoration to contact their insurance companies. Once service was authorized by a homeowner’s insurance company, the homeowner received an initial check, typically around $5,000-$7,000. Homeowners then were asked to sign over their checks and sign a contract stating their roof system installation would start in four to six weeks. When sales representatives noticed roofs were not being installed, they confronted the Herrons but were told to continue selling services.
Employees said they witnessed William Herron use business checks to “pay rent on his expensive home in Barrington Park” and believed they were using customers’ initial insurance checks to “support an expensive lifestyle.”
Multiple roofing subcontractors and suppliers also have said the company owes them more than $50,000, and sales representatives’ paychecks have bounced.
Web tool provides resources regarding asbestos prevention
A new tool from the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization is designed to provide step-by-step pathways to prevent asbestos exposure, according to Safety+Health magazine. Users of the Asbestos Action Navigator answer a series of questions and then receive an action plan.
The navigator offers pathways for:
- Prevention: Build a personalized safety plan to avoid disturbing asbestos in workplaces, homes or schools. Users are guided through risk identification and practical steps to reduce exposure.
- Exposure tracking: Create a personal exposure log.
- Care navigation: Plan treatment, organize medical records and connect with trusted networks to manage care.
Each pathway is paired with a downloadable PDF guide for reference. The tool is available at asbestosdiseaseawareness.org.
Report scores construction workers hazard exposure
Construction workers “face a diverse array of hazards: toxic chemicals, dangerous working conditions and risky body positions, among others,” according to a report from CPWR–The Center for Construction Research and Training.
The report focuses on occupational, environmental, chemical, ergonomic and physical exposures and includes exposure scores by industry, common chemical substances and blood lead levels. It draws on information from O*NET Occupational Exposures Data, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance data.
Results show nearly 23% of construction workers reported being exposed to hazardous chemicals for at least four hours per week in 2024 compared with 6.7% of nonconstruction workers.
Other findings include:
- Almost 38% of construction and extraction employees “constantly” worked outside in 2024.
- Regarding harmful contaminants, construction workers had an average exposure score of 73.2 compared with 43.6 for those outside the industry.
- When it comes to working at heights, construction workers had an average exposure score of 54.9 versus 14 for other workers.
- Construction workers experienced a 37% decrease in elevated blood lead levels from 2010 to 2023.
“Understanding these patterns is critical to mitigating exposures,” the report says. “The decrease in elevated blood lead levels since 2010 represents encouraging progress, but construction workers are still regularly exposed to hazardous chemicals and for longer periods than all industries combined. Continued efforts are necessary to ensure construction workers are protected when exposed to hazards like heights, dangerous equipment and job tasks that increase the risk of musculoskeletal disorders.”
Hearing conservation could lower dementia risk
Hearing conservation could lower dementia risk
A recent study found the risk of dementia increased with the severity of work-related hearing loss, according to Safety+Health magazine.
During a webinar hosted by CPWR–The Center for Construction Research and Training, Marianne Cloeren, associate professor of medicine at the University of Maryland, College Park, Md., discussed the study. She suggested that, as part of an effective hearing conservation program, employers take preventive action during work as well as analyze possible hearing loss development before symptoms present. Measures to take include:
- Reducing noise
- Using effective hearing protection
- Checking noise-exposed workers’ hearing tests to find temporary threshold shifts and correcting conditions causing noise-induced hearing loss
- Testing to diagnose hearing loss
- Providing access to effective, affordable hearing aids (which studies suggest may lower the risk of developing dementia among people with hearing loss)
