Kansas City, Mo. ? A Kansas City hospital is facing an $84,000 federal fine for allowing some of its workers to be exposed to potential asbestos-related contamination.

Research Medical Center has 15 days to respond to findings by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which were released Thursday. The agency described the hospital’s violations as “serious” and “willful.”

The hospital can either pay the fine, dispute the findings or seek a lower penalty.

Hospital officials notified about 85 of its workers that they had potentially been exposed to asbestos after receiving OSHA’s report, said hospital spokeswoman Linda Morris Shaffer. None of the employees, who were exposed during an expansion project, had received medical examinations to detect asbestos exposure, she said.

It is not clear whether hospital patients and visitors were exposed, because OSHA’s investigation covered only employee exposure, said OSHA area director Barb Theriot.

“We can’t go where there are patients, and we didn’t want to disturb patients,” she said.

Shaffer said that Research Medical Center has a comprehensive plan that includes asbestos abatement in the areas that OSHA identified. She said hospital officials are trying to determine what else needs to be addressed concerning asbestos.

According to the OSHA report, the material containing asbestos was in a vinyl wall covering with gray felt backing. The material crumbles easily, which allows the asbestos fibers to become airborne. The fibers can cause lung cancer, mesothelioma, asbestosis and other respiratory problems.

A person might not exhibit symptoms for 10 to 40 years.

The OSHA report says that the asbestos is in hallways, a boiler room, an X-ray control room and several other places. According to the report, the hospital knew the amount and location of the asbestos dating back to at least September 2006.

The report says the workers exposed included operating engineers who worked in the boiler room and a housekeeper and floor technician who cleaned patient-care areas.

Theriot said OSHA is looking into whether construction workers who were renovating the hospital’s fourth floor were exposed.

A Kansas City Health Department inspector found the problem in June, noticing what appeared to be asbestos in construction debris.

Dunn and Research paid $4,000 in fines in October in a settlement of the Health Department’s case.