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Public Housing Residents Exposed to Asbestos: Gosse |
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Written by NDP
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Friday, 07 April 2006 |
NDP Housing Critic Gordie Gosse is asking Community Services Minister David Morse why Cape Breton Regional Housing has known since October 25, 2005 that residents of public housing in Sydney were exposed to asbestos, but kept it quiet until now.
Workers conducting repairs in public housing units at 3 Rose Terrace in Sydney were informed only this week that they have been exposed to one of the most dangerous forms of asbestos - actinolite - while drilling into the attics in some of the housing units. All work has ceased and the workers have been told to be tested.
"This is one of the reasons that I and my NDP colleagues have been calling for a full audit of public housing units," says Gosse. "Many of these units were built 30 years ago or more and are at higher risk of containing asbestos insulation and other materials that do not meet today's building codes."
In a letter to Cape Breton Regional Housing, dated October 25, 2005, an air quality lab confirms the presence of actinolite in a sample taken from Rose Terrace and warns that actinolite is one of the most dangerous kinds of asbestos because it enters the air easily and is more difficult for the lungs to expel. Asbestos is linked to cancer.
"It is scandalous that the Department of Community Services has known about this incident since October, yet work continued until recently," says Gosse. "If the fact that these workers have been exposed to this potentially lethal substance isn't disturbing enough, the workers told me they witnessed residents - including children - being exposed to the dust that came from the ceilings."
"The Minister must not only take action to ensure these residents are safe, he must finally listen and order a complete audit of public housing stock in this province." |
