About 300 construction workers in B.C. will die of asbestos-related diseases each year for the next five years, according to a survey by the B.C. and Yukon Building and Construction Trades Council.
The survey, which among other things concluded that workers in the province's insulation industry have had heavy exposure to the deadly asbestos fibres, is supported by a Canadian physician involved in mesothelioma research and a professor in the University of B.C.'s school of environmental health.
WorkSafeBC also said Monday that although their claim numbers aren't as high as those in the survey, asbestos-related deaths are spiking and now represent most of the deaths in B.C. from occupational disease.
"We've known that 51 per cent of work-related deaths accepted last year were occupational disease deaths and the vast majority are related to asbestos exposure that happened often decades ago," WorkSafeBC spokesman Donna Freeman said in an interview. "There were 139 deaths [reported] in 2007 and 71 were occupational disease deaths. In 1984, only eight per cent of work-related deaths were from occupational diseases.
"They [asbestos-related deaths] are certainly increasing year over year and we expect to see this trend for the next 10 to 15 years. It's a very big issue for us."
Wayne Peppard, executive director of the construction trades council, said in an interview that asbestos exposure illness and mesothelioma [a type of cancer in the lung] is now epidemic and that 1,500 workers in B.C. will die of it in the next five years.
He said their survey is based on an analysis of preliminary WorkSafeBC [formerly the Workers' Compensation Board] statistics and the latest research at the UBC School of Environmental Health.
Peppard said their review takes into account that many mesothelioma fatalities are missing as WorkSafeBC statistics only register and track their own accepted cases.
"A lot of the cases go undiagnosed. If a worker is a smoker and doesn't indicate they've been exposed to asbestos, there's no reason for the doctor to suspect it.
"This is a serious epidemic and it won't be going away very quickly, especially if the federal government and Quebec continue [allowing] it to be mined.
"We know that many mesothelioma fatalities are not recorded in the statistics, nor are many lung cancer cases that are caused by asbestos exposure," Peppard said. "This carnage from asbestos related fatalities is disastrous for those workers and their families."
The 60-year-old Peppard, himself a plumber for 37 years, is now being tested for possible disease caused by his lengthy exposure to asbestos.
"I'm starting to lose my breath, so I'm a little concerned," he said. "I'm getting tested now. I can remember pulling asbestos off boilers and pipes. I went home coughing the stuff up."
He said asbestos is still used in B.C., including in some house siding products, and roofing and paving materials.
Wayne Laxton, business manager for the B.C. Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers, Local 118, said in an interview that workers in B.C.'s insulation industry have had heavy exposure to the deadly asbestos fibres.
"I now have a spot on my left lung," added the 61-year-old Laxton, who recalls as a young man mixing large amounts of asbestos called "blue mud" to make an insulating product.
"The fellows who used it, including myself, weren't made aware of the carcinogenic properties. In 1970, I mixed carloads of this material. I'm now being monitored very closely."
Laxton said asbestos was used extensively as an insulation product in the 1950s, '60s and '70s and that thousands of British Columbians have asbestos fibres in their lungs and don't know they've been exposed. He said widows of deceased union members should demand an autopsy to find out for certain if their husbands' deaths were caused by asbestos.
"People have no idea about the use of this product. I just buried [a member] last Sunday. He was 61 and had mesothelioma."
Prof. Paul Demers of UBC's school of environmental health agreed with the union survey, saying that B.C. will experience a conservative estimate of 65 to 70 mesothelioma cancers and 130 to 140 asbestos-related lung cancers per year.
He said there is also asbestosis, as well as mesothelioma that is misdiagnosed and other asbestos related cancers (larynx, colorectal, stomach), which could push the number of new cases up to 250 to 300 per year.
Demers said that according to current trends, the numbers should crest between now and 10 years from now.
"It's not restricted to B.C. It's throughout the world.
"Asbestos was used for all kinds of insulation, extensively in ships and to increase the strength of concrete. And Canada still produces and exports asbestos."
Al Johnson, WorkSafeBC's regional director with responsibility for construction, said in an interview that asbestos was widely used from the 1920s to the mid-1980s as an insulating product that didn't burn and also added extra strength to other construction-related materials including floor tiles.
He said the most serious exposures involved workers handling and installing the material.
He said that "very, very little" is used in Canada today and that WorkSafe's current focus is on workers who remove asbestos from old buildings. "We have very strong guidelines."
He said mesothelioma has a long latency period, typically taking 30 to 40 years to develop into cancer.
Johnson said most older homes contain asbestos, but that today's greatest threat to the general public is if it's disturbed and the dust becomes airborne, perhaps while renovating.
Dr. Michael R. Johnson, a professor of surgery at Halifax's Dalhousie University who has performed several successful operations on patients afflicted with mesothelioma, said in a statement that "mesothelioma is often difficult to diagnose and even more difficult and frustrating to treat."
The survey, which among other things concluded that workers in the province's insulation industry have had heavy exposure to the deadly asbestos fibres, is supported by a Canadian physician involved in mesothelioma research and a professor in the University of B.C.'s school of environmental health.
WorkSafeBC also said Monday that although their claim numbers aren't as high as those in the survey, asbestos-related deaths are spiking and now represent most of the deaths in B.C. from occupational disease.
"We've known that 51 per cent of work-related deaths accepted last year were occupational disease deaths and the vast majority are related to asbestos exposure that happened often decades ago," WorkSafeBC spokesman Donna Freeman said in an interview. "There were 139 deaths [reported] in 2007 and 71 were occupational disease deaths. In 1984, only eight per cent of work-related deaths were from occupational diseases.
"They [asbestos-related deaths] are certainly increasing year over year and we expect to see this trend for the next 10 to 15 years. It's a very big issue for us."
Wayne Peppard, executive director of the construction trades council, said in an interview that asbestos exposure illness and mesothelioma [a type of cancer in the lung] is now epidemic and that 1,500 workers in B.C. will die of it in the next five years.
He said their survey is based on an analysis of preliminary WorkSafeBC [formerly the Workers' Compensation Board] statistics and the latest research at the UBC School of Environmental Health.
Peppard said their review takes into account that many mesothelioma fatalities are missing as WorkSafeBC statistics only register and track their own accepted cases.
"A lot of the cases go undiagnosed. If a worker is a smoker and doesn't indicate they've been exposed to asbestos, there's no reason for the doctor to suspect it.
"This is a serious epidemic and it won't be going away very quickly, especially if the federal government and Quebec continue [allowing] it to be mined.
"We know that many mesothelioma fatalities are not recorded in the statistics, nor are many lung cancer cases that are caused by asbestos exposure," Peppard said. "This carnage from asbestos related fatalities is disastrous for those workers and their families."
The 60-year-old Peppard, himself a plumber for 37 years, is now being tested for possible disease caused by his lengthy exposure to asbestos.
"I'm starting to lose my breath, so I'm a little concerned," he said. "I'm getting tested now. I can remember pulling asbestos off boilers and pipes. I went home coughing the stuff up."
He said asbestos is still used in B.C., including in some house siding products, and roofing and paving materials.
Wayne Laxton, business manager for the B.C. Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers, Local 118, said in an interview that workers in B.C.'s insulation industry have had heavy exposure to the deadly asbestos fibres.
"I now have a spot on my left lung," added the 61-year-old Laxton, who recalls as a young man mixing large amounts of asbestos called "blue mud" to make an insulating product.
"The fellows who used it, including myself, weren't made aware of the carcinogenic properties. In 1970, I mixed carloads of this material. I'm now being monitored very closely."
Laxton said asbestos was used extensively as an insulation product in the 1950s, '60s and '70s and that thousands of British Columbians have asbestos fibres in their lungs and don't know they've been exposed. He said widows of deceased union members should demand an autopsy to find out for certain if their husbands' deaths were caused by asbestos.
"People have no idea about the use of this product. I just buried [a member] last Sunday. He was 61 and had mesothelioma."
Prof. Paul Demers of UBC's school of environmental health agreed with the union survey, saying that B.C. will experience a conservative estimate of 65 to 70 mesothelioma cancers and 130 to 140 asbestos-related lung cancers per year.
He said there is also asbestosis, as well as mesothelioma that is misdiagnosed and other asbestos related cancers (larynx, colorectal, stomach), which could push the number of new cases up to 250 to 300 per year.
Demers said that according to current trends, the numbers should crest between now and 10 years from now.
"It's not restricted to B.C. It's throughout the world.
"Asbestos was used for all kinds of insulation, extensively in ships and to increase the strength of concrete. And Canada still produces and exports asbestos."
Al Johnson, WorkSafeBC's regional director with responsibility for construction, said in an interview that asbestos was widely used from the 1920s to the mid-1980s as an insulating product that didn't burn and also added extra strength to other construction-related materials including floor tiles.
He said the most serious exposures involved workers handling and installing the material.
He said that "very, very little" is used in Canada today and that WorkSafe's current focus is on workers who remove asbestos from old buildings. "We have very strong guidelines."
He said mesothelioma has a long latency period, typically taking 30 to 40 years to develop into cancer.
Johnson said most older homes contain asbestos, but that today's greatest threat to the general public is if it's disturbed and the dust becomes airborne, perhaps while renovating.
Dr. Michael R. Johnson, a professor of surgery at Halifax's Dalhousie University who has performed several successful operations on patients afflicted with mesothelioma, said in a statement that "mesothelioma is often difficult to diagnose and even more difficult and frustrating to treat."
This article was originally published at canada.com/vancouversun/news
on February 5, 2008
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