The B.C. government is reviewing what can be done to better protect people and the environment from asbestos in efforts to prevent more asbestos-related deaths from occurring in the future. As part of this work, the Ministry of Labour is leading a provincial working group to examine what additional actions can be taken to ensure that both British Columbians and the environment are adequately protected from the dangers of asbestos.
Let the BC government know your thoughts here.
It is more and more difficult in our modern society to completely avoid asbestos, it can appear in so many different products from building materials to automotive break linings. In most BC cities we all live with asbestos to some degree, unfortunately there is very little common understanding of how to safely live and work around asbestos. People tend to either over, or under react and often lack basic awareness.
We would like to see regulation and licensing of asbestos abatement contractors.
WorkSafeBC does a good job of advocating for workers and many others, but there is a lack of support/education and resources for the general public (for example: tenants are often left with limited options to understand and enforce safe practices). It would also promote their health and safety, since there is little regulation protecting homeowners undertaking their own renovations.
We need to make it easier and more cost effective to dispose of asbestos containing material in a safe and correct way.
We recommend establishing a program to test buildings for asbestos when they are purchased and renovated and for that information to be held in a provincial registry. Furthermore, a tax credit program is necessary to help consumers with the cost of expensive asbestos mitigation in renovations and demolitions.
