WorkSafeBC found “high risk of illness or death” on August 8 and no date is set for resumption of work
(by Margot Grant)
The stop-work order at the George site is still in place after a WorkSafeBC inspection found “reasonable grounds to believe there is a high risk of serious injury, serious illness or death to a worker at this workplace.”
The site was inspected on August. 8, and re-inspected on September 14.
It is unknown when the work at 385, 397 and 409 Gower Point Road will resume. Developer Klaus Fuerniss told The Coast Clarion “we will resume when we’re ready and I have no further comment.“ The only thing Klaus Fuerniss Enterprises has been allowed to do since the order was imposed is to install a silt fence at the south property line.
WorkSafeBC found several violations of safe labour practices at the site. “The developer had collected 11 bulk samples that were analyzed, which is not consistent with recognized industry standard,” the inspection reports say. “The sampling technique was not consistent with principles of good occupational hygiene practices, as the samples that were taken were not from areas likely to contain asbestos. A qualified person did not conduct an inspection and identify the hazardous materials, if any.”
Asked when the next inspection is scheduled, a spokesperson for WorkSafeBC replied: “We do not give out that information. We like to show up unannounced.”
The developer has engaged a materials consultant to conduct a detailed risk assessment to determine the extent of potential asbestos contamination, WorkSafeBC says. The risk assessment must be submitted to the inspector for review.
According to the second report, the developer is also in the process of securing a qualified abatement contractor to develop proper clean-up procedures.
By law, a stop-work order placard must be posted at the site, but it is missing from the fences around the George property.
“The employer has indicated that the stop-work order placard was taken down by a member of the public,” WorkSafeBC spokesperson Trish Chernecki wrote The Coast Clarion in an email. “The employer then posted the inspection report and the written confirmation on the fence where the placard was, but both documents were [also] removed by a member of the public.
“The employer then posted the inspection reports and the written confirmation at the entrance to each of the houses to be demolished [which are] areas not accessible to members of the public. This is considered acceptable to remain compliant with WorkSafeBC.”