Asbestos in your home?

Canada may ban top workplace killer

National Day of Mourning for workers who have been killed on the job or who died because of their work was in late April. The top cause of work-related death is still asbestos, despite the 1979 ban on asbestos in home building materials. The problem continues because asbestos is imported in car brake pads, insulation material, and other products. Last year, $8.2 million worth of asbestos products were imported into Canada.  Canada used to be a major exporter of asbestos.

On April 22, James Clancy, the President of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) wrote MaryAnn Mihychuk, the Minister of Labour, asking for an outright ban of asbestos and asbestos imports in Canada.

“Every year, 145,000 Canadian workers are exposed to asbestos at their workplace, and over 2,000 are diagnosed with asbestos cancers and other diseases” Clancy said in his letter.

In Quebec, employers with more than 50 employees who work in areas containing vapours, fumes or airborne dust must measure for asbestos at least once a year.  If levels of asbestos are found five-times greater than normal background levels, employers must provide breathing masks.

Mel Argun of Focus Home Inspections, based in Aylmer, has said that asbestos is still a common thing he encounters in local homes. “I come across it day-to-day and week-to-week, especially in homes built from the 1930s to the 70s,” Argun said.

Argun said that even if it is not in home insulation, asbestos could have been used in household tiling and even cement.  Asbestos in these forms becomes more dangerous when it is disturbed during renovations and released into the air.  Argun says he warns his clients that if there is asbestos in their homes, they should not disturb it themselves and that it should be safely disposed of by well-equipped professionals.