By Anna Nicolle
An electronic repair shop in the West Block of Parliament Hill has been shut down because of a fear that high levels of asbestos may be present.
The room was closed last week after construction work in the ceilings left a layer of dust and ceiling material on the floor and work surfaces.
Union officials fear the dust may contain asbestos particles and have pushed Public Works and Government Services Canada to conduct environmental tests before allowing employees to return to work.
René Crêtne, director general of the parliamentary precinct for the department, says construction workers on Parliament Hill always use Type 2 safety procedures when they do any construction in hazardous areas. The procedures include setting up vacuum tents and wearing protective clothing, goggles and dust filters in the area.
Crêtne says the workers went into the ceilings in this room to do maintenance on the security systems.
“Each time we do repair or maintenance work in these areas where we know that there is asbestos, (the workers) always have to take security measures . . . we try to minimize this type of work but in some situations we don’t have a choice but to test or do minor repairs,” he says.
Crêtne says the result of the air-sampling tests from the room have already come back from the lab and “there is no problem with the air.” DD He says his department is still waiting for the results of the tests on the dust and ceiling particles from the work surfaces of the room. Crêtne anticipates these test results will take at least two weeks.
But Dave Bathos, president of Local 102-0 of the Communications, Energy and Paper Workers Union, questions whether the workers followed the proper precautions.
“We had concerns about how the process was carried out . . . there were little chunks of ceiling material which gave us more cause for concern because if they had put that tent up why would there be that material on the work surfaces?” he asks.
Batho says there is a “moratorium” on ceiling work in the Parliament Buildings because of the dangerously high levels of asbestos.
“The asbestos that is there (in the ceilings) is greater than 75 per cent amocite asbestos . . . You are talking about extremely, extremely high concentrations of asbestos material and even minor exposure leads to potential long-term health problems,” he says.
Asbestos is a fibrous, rock-like mineral with excellent insulating and fireproofing properties. It was used extensively in residential and commercial construction and in such building materials as insulation and cement, and floor and ceiling tiles.
Asbestos was banned in the early 1970s because researchers identified it as the cause of life-threatening diseases such as asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer.
Airborne asbestos can remain in the lungs for long periods of time and it can take as long as 20 years after the initial exposure for symptoms to appear.
This is not the first building on Parliament Hill that could be considered a safety risk for its occupants.
Part of the Wellington Building was closed down at the end of November after a report prepared for Public Works by Pinchin Environmental Ltd. showed high levels of asbestos in dust lying on light fixtures and cable trays in the hallway and the gym.
Crêtne says although major asbestos removal was done in the Wellington building from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, there is still asbestos present in some areas.
“When we are talking about mechanical shafts, there is a lot of piping and equipment in these shafts and to remove 100 per cent of asbestos fibres is very difficult. So we cannot tell you that it was completely removed . . . but we can say most of the asbestos was removed from that building,” he says.
According to the environmental testing, there were just over 2.9 million particles of asbestos per square centimetre in this area.
This is more than 70 times the maximum amount allowed by federal standards.
Crêtne says the asbestos present in mechanical shafts and pipes poses absolutely no danger to the occupants of the Wellington Building.
“There was some asbestos fibre in the dust but we have done many tests on air quality since then . . . the air quality is very good so there is no problem for the occupants of that building,” he says.
Denis St-Jean, national health and safety officer with the Public Service Alliance of Canada, isn’t convinced.
“We need a third party to assess the danger and I think we should err on the safe side and relocate the employees until we get assurances from a health professional that the employees in this building are in no danger from asbestos exposure,” he says.
The Wellington Building houses Members of Parliament as well as government employees.
Dave Batho says retired communications technician Hugh Graham has already been diagnosed with lung cancer as a result of the asbestos dust he breathed during his 18 years on Parliament Hill. Batho says Graham is just one of a number of union members who are ill due to asbestos exposure on Parliament Hill, although Graham is the only one to have come forward publicly.
The Communications, Energy and Paper Workers Union and the Public Service Alliance of Canada has negotiated with the House of Commons to have a third party conduct further testing in this area.
The area will remain closed until testing and asbestos removal is complete.