January 29, 2007

Hazardous Materials

Asbestos removal open to abuse without monitoring

Jean Sorensen

correspondent

Surrey

B.C.’s asbestos removal and abatement industry has been called everything from a “crap shoot” to the “wild west”. It’s considered wide-open to unskilled contractors and municipal regulations exist with loopholes wide enough to park a truck. And, each decade in Canada the population of a small rural town – 3,400 – die from lung diseases related to asbestos. In B.C. as many as 50 B.C. workers die annually from asbestosis, mesothelioma, and lung cancer.

“Today, if you want to be an asbestos abatement contractor or consultant- all you need is a business card. There are no standards for competency or legislative requirements,” said Don Whyte, manager of B.C.’s Hazardous Materials Association (HMA). Whyte said WorkSafeBC has diligently worked with the industry and formulated worker regulations. It has scheduled an industry conference on the growing concerns of asbestos on March 13 for all those who may be affected by asbestos handling. Concerned contractors should contact WorkSafeBC at asbconf@worksafe to get an invitation to the conference.

The HMA, which offers employee training programs, plans to lobby for more government involvement and monitoring to ensure that asbestos removal is done safely, and that that hazardous materials are transported and disposed of legally, said Whyte.

“We would like to see regulatory agencies work towards worker certification and contractor licensing, this would go a long way in policing the industry,” Whyte said. There is also a concern that companies, which remove asbestos from buildings – commercial or even residential – are using unskilled or uneducated labour and these individuals are unaware of the downstream dangers of asbestos exposure. Whyte said it is not only employees involved in the removal and abatement of the asbestos that can be exposed but, unskilled companies can expose other employees or building occupants.

While WorkSafeBC statistics indicate as many as 50 workers die a year from asbestos diseases, the difficulty in tallying deaths lies in the disease latency period of 20 to 30 years before showing up. The Centre for Study of Living Standards, an Ottawa-based non-profit organization which studied worker deaths from 1993-2005 found that asbestos related disease continues to mount, despite a reduction in asbestos product use in the 1980s. It found that out of 1,097 workplace fatalities in 2005 alone, 491 were attributed to accidents and 557 from occupational diseases. Of the disease related deaths for that year, asbestos-related deaths alone accounted for 340 deaths. The study states that while asbestos products have not been used in buildings for decades, an aging population exposed or dealing with these products is now showing up as statistics. “The number of work-related deaths has not yet peaked,” it warned.

Whyte is one of many who fears that unless municipalities and regional districts begin working together and with WorkSafeBC authorities to ensure that regulations are in place, uniform, and adhered to, the deaths from asbestos will claim a new generation. There should be a mandatory requirement to obtain a hazard material assessment prior to obtaining a building, renovation, or demolition permit. Currently, only Vancouver requires the building owner to do so in the case of a demolition. The system’s weakness, said Whyte, is that the demolition contractor can do the assessment rather than a qualified industrial hygienist.

Glenn Nawrocki of Wes-har Asbestos Analysis and Consulting, in 1988 started providing dependable quality consulting and laboratory services for clients who had to comply with occupational health requirements. His firm operates a comprehensive website at www.weshar.com. Nawrocki is concerned that much talk and studies have not yet yielded the regulatory focus required today. Currently, he said, companies are using their history as a reference. “If you have been doing it wrong for 20 years,” he said, “That is not a reference.”

Pat McCallan of AMPM Landclearing and Demolition said today’s environment of fast developments and hot markets is fueling abuses. His company will not touch any building without the owner presenting an environmental assessment by a reputable company qualified to perform it. Such an assessment can cost as much as $5,000 to $10,000 for a commercial property. “When this is pointed out, people freeze like deer caught in headlights. You never hear from them again,” he said, adding they have sought out another company that is willing to sacrifice worker safety. The lack of regulation in the industry today makes it “a crap shoot,” he said, adding B.C. is really still the “wild west” when it comes to asbestos removal and abatement.

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