Roll call for Asbestos Exposure
By Bill Pomfret
In October last year I was the consultant chosen to conduct eight separate health & safety training courses at the 4 Wing base at Cold Lake Alberta.
Included in the eight courses where two on Asbestos, both the Asbestos courses caused great concerns by the majority of the military and civilian students, the concerns evolved around the serious health risks of all DND staff and civilians, who until this training where ignorant of the extent of onsite Asbestos exposures, the health risks and the current work practices associated with it.
Upon the completion of the contract I wrote a letter to the commanding officer Colonel D.L.R. Wheeler, regarding my observations and expressing my serious concerns, he did not even meet or telephone me, after which I received several communications from another officer, during our several communications, I stated that unless the site proceeded without delay with a comprehensive Asbestos Abatement program, and kept me appraised of progress, I would go public.
The World Health Organization confirms that 125 million people encounter asbestos in the workplace, and the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that 100,000 workers die each year from all asbestos-related diseases, over 1000 of them Canadian, deaths from the disease in the military are unknown
The appalling standards I observed at Cold Lake with friable Asbestos In almost every building I visited, shocked me to say the least. In addition to serious violations of the Canada Labour Code, the Provincial Asbestos Regulations and even DND’s own internal standards where being seriously violated in the most sever terms, it is tragic to see our military personnel being killed at war, but to be exposed to the extremely high hazards of Asbestos and the inevitable suffering which will follow through poorly managed on site exposure is simply unacceptable.
On both Asbestos courses I taught, students had major concerns about their own and families health, especially after years of exposure to friable asbestos, my professional ethics would not allow me to condone, connive or turn a blind eye to the ever worsening situation at Cold Lake, and I am told, other Canadian Military bases which is why I decided to write this article.
As required by the DND contract, I provided training on Asbestos exposure prevention, but the students, collectively requested that I bring the matter up with the Commanding Officer, which is why I recommended in my report to 4 Wing Safety a free half day “Executive Briefing” on the subject during my next scheduled visit in January 2010, which did not happen.
While not wanting to cause panic, I do think that the Military bureaucrats and executive need to understand their personal and collective liability under laws mentioned above, not to mention the Civil liability in which the DND is subject to, once Mesothelioma, Asbestosis and other cancers are diagnosed, Asbestos related diseases are now the number one cause of occupational health hazards in Canada.
Asbestos was not the only hazard, I found water pouring over electrics, fire doors with serious deficiencies etc, In over 30 years of occupational health & safety consultancy including Asbestos management, I have never seen more Asbestos, in so many buildings, with such poor management controls, indeed, my brief inspection revealed that even Cadets where living in buildings without any warnings of the large quantities of Friable Asbestos surrounding them, why are federal and Provincial Inspections not being conducted, if this was a private industry site, it would be closed down, and serious prosecutions undertaken.
During the past decade or so I have personally tried to have the Canadian Government, take Asbestos seriously, I supervised several contracts costing many $ millions including the Prime Minister’s residence, Rideau Hall and Parliament Hill through the NCC, The Canadian Government can find a $ Billion for the G20 summit, but what about its duty to ban Asbestos production stop exporting the most hazardous substance known to man, and the misery it will cause for decades to come to India, Indonesia and other un-suspecting 3rd world countries, and now the DND.
How can I, or anyone, teach Asbestos awareness or how to manage it effectively without looking at the Internal Responsibility System, it is impossible, and I want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem, however 4 Wing Safety have responded in a very negative way, cancelling five courses scheduled for 2010.
As stated earlier, my professional ethics will not allow me to keep quiet, 4 Wing Cold Lake needs to develop and implement a pro-active plan of action, without delay, all staff need to be provided basic training, senior officers, and civilian management need to be educated regarding the dangers of friable Asbestos that needs to be sealed, and a regular independent audit or inspections conducted in order to keep it from flaking and becoming airborne, what is more, DND needs to look at all its barracks, staff housing & workplaces and make them 100% safe for our soldiers and their families.
About the Author
Dr. Bill Pomfret ; MSc; FIOSH; RSP; FRSH; FBIM; CSL; MIIRSM, Dip SM is a best-selling author, speaker and dynamic presenter, who has traveled the world educating and motivating management and employees to adopt effective health, safety and risk control policies; practices and procedures that prevent or mitigate human, economic and environmental losses from adverse occupational exposures.
He has developed and implemented many Occupational Health Safety and Environmental models and was Professor who taught practices and procedures at McGill University. He has been in the Occupational Health, Safety and Environmental system development-consulting and auditing field for over thirty years. Dr. Pomfret designed and developed the 5 Star Health and Safety Management System™ in 1978; later he produced Industry specific modules for construction, marine, aviation, oil and gas and mining, and he has conducted more OH&S audits than anyone in the world, having audited in over 40 countries
Dr. Pomfret can be reached at:
Box 13161 Kanata, Ontario, Canada, K2K 1X4.
Tel: 613-254-9233, pomfret@bell.net
pomfretb@5star.com www.spi5star.com
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