News
Firefighters Get New App To Track Asbestos Exposure
A University of Toronto innovation is helping firefighters track the effects when it comes to exposure to asbestos and other hazardous substances. Statistics show that firefighters do suffer from an increased risk of mesothelioma – twice as high in some studies. Mesothelioma is the result of exposure to asbestos fibres. Because of their virtually indestructible nature, they…
Read MoreDeaths from Asbestos Related Mesothelioma Continue to Rise
Decades after it was largely removed from use in everyday objects, asbestos continues to haunt both the industrialized and developing worlds. Statistics Canada recently released figures that show the health effects, including the number of cases and deaths from mesothelioma, the deadly cancer caused only by asbestos exposure, continue to be on the rise. Some…
Read MoreAsbestos & More Keeps New PM out of 24 Sussex
With the election of a new Prime Minister comes a quandary… what to do about the official PM’s residence at 22 Sussex Drive in Ottawa? The Victorian mansion, according to reports, suffers from decades of neglect. Lack of maintenance is a recipe for a variety of ills, including asbestos. Among the many issues that need…
Read MoreOntario Firm Under Investigation for Improper Asbestos Handling
Canada’s oldest furniture factory sadly closed some years ago, but it’s making the news today because of problems both old and new – including asbestos. Kingston-area Gibbard Furniture was Canada’s oldest furniture factory, in business from the time it was built in 1835 until it was closed in 2009. The building languished for years until…
Read MoreAsbestos Abatement Firm & Supervisor Fined for Workers’ Asbestos Exposure
An asbestos removal firm in eastern Ontario and its supervisor were given fines amounting to just under $30K recently for exposing workers to asbestos. Court heard how workers were exposed to asbestos dust on a job site. The supervisor in question pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to ensure that his workers were using…
Read MoreHeritage Group Fights Province – Along with Asbestos, Mould
A heritage group in Southern Ontario just outside the GTA is getting the cold shoulder from the province when it asked to view a historic property. The Hamilton, Ontario group – the city’s municipal heritage committee – requested to view Century Manor, an ornate three-storey mansion that was once home to the Hamilton Asylum for…
Read MoreOntario Developer Fined $125K in Asbestos Case
A Western Ontario property developer was fined $125,000 – including a $25,000 victim fine – for failing to properly dispose of asbestos at the former Grace Hospital in Windsor, Ontario. In fact, the developer submitted a consultant report on the site in 2011 prior to demolition. The report claimed the site was abestos-free but the…
Read MoreMould Adds to Asbestos Woes for Nation’s Science and Technology Museum
It’s something of an irony of course that the Canada Science and Technology Museum should be closed for two of the issues that epitomize old-fashioned building technology – asbestos and mould. The Museum is closed amid renewed talks for it to simply move out of the building and into more appropriate quarters. The latest complaint…
Read MoreAsbestos in Historic Sites
Another of Canada’s historic sites has fallen victim to old age and the cumulative effects of problems associated with older buildings – including asbestos. The fifth-floor kitchen in Ottawa’s Government Conference Centre is now gone, along with the rest of the building. What made an unassuming kitchen a site of historic significance? It was the…
Read MoreFamily Forced to Vacate Home After Botched Asbestos Removal
A Winnipeg family was driven by their home after a horribly botched asbestos removal job. After their complaints, the Chief Occupational Medical Officer of the province went so far as to issue an order forcing the company to decontaminate the house The family had hired a company to do asbestos remediation in preparation for the…
Read More