WorkSafeBC is launching a new awareness campaign to help protect workers from being exposed to asbestos.
VP of Prevention Services, Al Johnson says exposure to asbestos is deadly, noting 44 workers have died this year alone from asbestos.
He says this campaign is focused on contractors to ensure they know what needs to be done to ensure you don’t disturb asbestos when doing renovations on a home.
“Asbestos certainly was used extensively in the past but now we’re dealing with asbestos that was put in place years ago so in buildings that are being demolished – in older homes that are being demolished – asbestos found its way into so many different building materials when they were built that now when they remove those materials they have to make sure they’re taking the proper precautions.”
According to WorkSafe, in homes built before 1990, asbestos could be found in more than 3000 building materials.
Johnson says before starting any project is get an asbestos survey to determine if there’s any asbestos in the materials that would be distrubed during the project.
