Exposure to asbestos is not something only skilled trades labourers need worry about, according to the organizer of an event designed to raise awareness on the dangers on the commonly occurring mineral.
With the cost of housing increasing, many first-time home buyers are purchasing older homes with the idea of updating them. While they may not be able to do the installation work themselves, they get started on the demolition side of the job, said Tracy Ford, organizer of the third annual Walk for Truth—Asbestos Kills.
“We want people to know that before they rip anything up or tear anything down they should think twice,” she said, adding that asbestos was widely used in building materials between 1950 and 1990. “Any home that was built or renovated prior to 1990 could have materials that contain asbestos inside.”
Asbestos is called the “Silent Killer” because of the long latency of its diseases, upwards of 40 years. There is no safe level of exposure to asbestos and even one exposure could result in contracting as asbestos-related disease, particularly mesothelioma.
“Mesothelioma is not something that’s genetic,” said Ford. “If you prevent exposure, you prevent the illness. We think that raising awareness is critical.”
Asbestos can commonly be found in vinyl flooring, popcorn ceilings and insulation among other materials in the home. Unless it is being disturbed—being ripped up, pulled out or drilled through—the asbestos fibres are not released and are safe.
“The issue arrises when it’s being disturbed,” said home inspector Darick Holler who tests for asbestos. “If you’re doing work in the attic and you’ve got to update wiring or install pot lights in the kitchen, it will be an issue.”
Holler added that homeowners determine if asbestos is present in the home.
“You just need to be aware that it may or may not contain asbestos and get it tested,” he said. He has come across a few situationss where people have been using their attics for storage and airflow from ventilation there has disturbed the insulation creating a hidden danger for anyone inside the attic.
“If you have an attic with asbestos, just leave it alone and then it’s no risk at all,” Holler said.
Before a contractors will work on a home with asbestos, the homeowner is required to hire an abatement and removal team, something which could cost as much $15,000 depending on the amount of contaminated materials in the home, he added.
Homeowners are not the only ones who are at risk of being exposed and Ford said that measures are being taken by WorkSafeBC to increase worker education around the dangers.
This year’s Walk for Truth is being organized by the Asbestos-related Research, Education & Advocacy (AREA) Fund, a grassroots charity started in BC by the Ford family, after Dave Ford, an electrician, died of mesothelioma in 2008.
The fund was established when the Ford family discovered that asbestos-related diseases are the number one occupational killer in BC and Canada and that not much was being done to improve the situation for victims and to protect people from asbestos exposure.
The family wanted to do something positive in Dave’s memory, so they approached Vancouver Foundation and worked with them to create a registered charitable fund in 2010 to support asbestos-related research, education and advocacy projects. Tracy estimates that approximately $95,000 has been raised since the fund was initiated.
Since the fund was started, a number of projects have received financial assistance, including the Canadian Cancer Society’s Right to Know campaign aimed at reducing cancer incidents by educating BC workers about the hazards of asbestos, a few documentary films and a page in the Canadian Environmental Atlas on the deadly mineral.
Tracy and her mother Lesley have been organizing the walk for the past three years and say that it has been a great success for raising the profile of the public health issue.
This year’s Walk for Truth will be held at Willingdon Beach’s Rotary Pavilion in Powell River on Saturday, July 12.
Sign-in and registration will happen between 1:30 to 2:15. From 2:30 to 3 pm speakers
Nancy Falconer from the Canadian Cancer Society, City of Powell River Mayor Dave Formosa, Scott McCloy from WorkSafeBC, Occupational health and safety specialist Larry Stoffman and Gary Amundsen will speak.
Participants in the walk will drop 107 daisies into the water to signify the 107,000 deaths the World Health Organization estimates will die this year from asbestos exposure.
The two-kilometre awareness walk will loop along Marine Avenue to Alexander Street and then back to Willingdon Beach along Marine. Participants are encouraged to create signs to carry on the walk.
Registration for the event is $10 per person and children under 12 are free. Readers interested in the event can find more information and can register online at www.areafund.ca
