No one claims responsibility for monitoring public health standards amid asbestos clean up in Vernon

Photo: Chelsey Mutter

Who’s looking out for the public’s health and safety amid asbestos clean up of the fire site in downtown Vernon?

According to multiple agencies, regard for public safety is left solely to the company handling site clean up. The building at 2807 30th St. burned down in July 2023, asbestos was found at the building, making clean up more difficult.

Work was temporarily paused when WorkSafeBC observed workers not practicing safe asbestos clean up. Now, workers can be seen wearing protection gear, including masks, to handle the site.

However, when asked what’s being done to ensure public safety amid the ongoing exposure to asbestos, WorkSafe told Castanet its focus was on worker safety and did not have information on community health.

Interior Health told Castanet this would not fall under its jurisdiction and the City of Vernon said the same.

Which begs the question: who’s looking out for the community?

Castanet was unable to get a hold of the Vernon site manager, but health and safety officer Brennan Beaudin with NAPP Enterprises gave general examples of what the company does to mitigate asbestos exposure to the community.

“We do have various asbestos fibre-control methods that we do use,” said Beaudin. “We can't have a containment around that material and invade it because it's already burnt material. What we do, and what we can do, is we apply water to the area so that it's all saturated … so with that watered down debris, it'll hold down any fibres, nothing will get released out into the air or anything like that.

“I'm not sure exactly what kind of procedures they had specifically, but depending on the landfill sites and stuff, they have specific methods that they want this debris transported and carried. They may, or may not, be what we call super sacs, which is a double lined bag.”

NAPP can also spray down asbestos with a glue-like substance to keep particles down similar to water, but more permanently.

He added that workers are in full personal protection gear for their safety, and asked the public to steer clear of the fenced off area of the cleanup site.

Asbestos is a mineral fibre found in rocks and was previously used as a building material in homes and commercial buildings, though it’s no longer widely used. The fibre normally poses little health risk, unless it is breathed in once it becomes airborne.

When large amounts are inhaled, the fibres can become lodged in the lungs and cause scarring or inflammation. According to BC Health Link, regular or long periods of exposure can increase the risk of lung cancer, mesothelioma (a rare cancer of the lining of the body cavity) and/or asbestosis (scarring of the lungs).

According to a report to council at the Monday March 25 meeting, the work is expected to take three weeks and be completed in mid- to late-April.