Federal regulators said today that they have cited the general contractor taking down the former Deutsche Bank tower and its former subcontractor for dozens of safety violations at the building where two firefighters died, proposing nearly half a million dollars in fines against them.

The citations, by the United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, against Bovis Lend Lease and the John Galt Corporation focused on fire-related hazards, including a missing section of standpipe that left firefighters without water to battle the Aug. 18 blaze, and insufficient water supply and water pressure.

The agency also cited Bovis and the Galt company for numerous other safety hazards, from blocked and unmarked exits to a lack of fire extinguishers and allowing smoking, which fire investigators said was the cause of the fatal blaze.

The hazards, OSHA said in a news release, exposed workers “to death or serious injury from falls, falling objects, electrocution and the inability to exit the tower swiftly and safely” in the event of a fire. Bovis fired the Galt company in August.

“Employers must adhere to safety and health standards, and prepare completely and effectively for workplace emergencies,” said Richard Mendelson, OSHA’s area director in Manhattan who oversaw the investigation that resulted in the citations.

“Failure to do so can — and, in this case, did — cost lives,” he said.

Bovis said it strongly disagreed with the citations and would vigorously fight them. A spokesman for the Galt company, which is no longer operating, could not be reached for comment, but one construction executive who worked with the company on the project said that Galt was cited, in some instances, for actions they had taken at the behest of safety regulators.

The citations stem from OSHA’s inspection following the fire, which left Firefighters Robert Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino dead. The contractors, which were formally served with the citation on Friday, have 15 days from then to either request an informal conference or fight the allegations before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

The office of the Manhattan district attorney, Robert M. Morgenthau, is conducting a broad criminal investigation into the deaths and the entire project, which had been mired in delays and regulatory red tape long before the fire shut down the deconstruction of the black tower.

That inquiry is focused on how the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and Bovis selected the Galt company, as well as failures on the part of the city, including the Fire Department and the Buildings Department, which were responsible for inspecting the site.

The 40-story building has stood beside ground zero as an ugly reminder of the Sept. 11 attack and the slow progress of rebuilding Lower Manhattan. The complex project, perhaps the most closely scrutinized undertaking of its kind, involved removing asbestos and other potentially toxic materials from the tower and tearing it down floor by floor. The deconstruction work had torn down the building to its 26th floor when the fire halted the project.

OSHA cited the two contractors for a total of $464,500 in proposed fines. They issued three willful and 22 serious citations to Galt, carrying fines of $271,500 and 2 willful and 17 serious citations to Bovis, with $193,000 in fines.

The agency defines a willful violation as one committed “with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.” A serious citation, according to the agency, is one in which “death or serious physical harm is likely to result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.”

“Bovis strongly disagrees with both the willful and serious citations and will vigorously defend against the allegations,” a company spokeswoman, Mary Costello, said in a statement. “The company is contesting the citations and the proposed penalties.”

The statement, noting that the deconstruction of the former bank tower at 130 Liberty Street was one of the most complex and highly regulated asbestos abatement and demolition projects ever undertaken in the city, said that work before the fire "was proceeding under an approved and closely monitored" plan.

It also said that Bovis has worked with city, state and federal regulators since the fire in planning for the resumption of work, and has developed a revised health and safety plan for the rest of the project, with a new subcontractor, LVI Environmental Services.

The executive who worked on project said he was angry about the citations, saying that some of the violations cited by OSHA, for example, sealing off the stairwells because the dry wall there contained asbestos, were done because federal environmental regulators ordered them to do so. The executive requested anonymity because of the ongoing investigation by Mr. Morgenthau’s office.

“Everything in this building was looked at, and relooked at, every single day by every single agency,” he said. “It was systematic. The whole thing approved by E.P.A. and OSHA.”

Among the issues cited by OSHA were:

— Failing to inspect and maintain firefighting equipment to ensure that the standpipe system was operational, and that sufficient water supply and water pressure were available for firefighting.

— Obstructed emergency exit access (including sealed emergency stairwells, emergency stairwells blocked by construction and unlighted stairwells).

— Inadequate emergency escape procedures.

— Unmarked exits.

— Lack of fire extinguishers, emergency alarm procedures and fire cutoffs.

— Failing to develop and follow a fire protection program.

— Smoking permitted in work areas.

— Temporary structures inside the building made of combustible materials.

— Scaffolds erected too close to power lines.

— Unprotected sides and edges of work areas, unprotected floor openings,
missing or broken guardrails and missing stair rails.

— Exposed live electrical parts, electric panel boards in wet locations and other electrical hazards.

Earlier this month, the Environmental Protection Agency approved the state’s revised plan for the decontamination and demolition of the remaining 26 floors, allowing work to resume for the first time since the August fire. The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation expects the entire job to be completed by the end of the year.

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