Minister comments articles regarding workplace safety at St. Clare�s Hospital

Oliver Langdon, Minister of Environment and Labour, is concerned that recent articles in The Telegram have left the impression that the Department of Environment and Labour has ineffectively addressed safety issues with respect to worker safety during renovation activity at St. Clare�s Hospital.

In January 2000, a complaint was received by the department from a worker at St. Clare�s relating to possible exposure to asbestos resulting from renovations under way at the facility. At the time of the inspection, no asbestos removal work was under way in the area.

"If there is any asbestos removal work under way at the time of an inspection and if our officers encounter a situation which in their professional judgement poses a risk to worker safety, they would shut the work down immediately until safe procedures were in place as they have done on previous occasions at other facilities," said the minister.

With respect to allegations of any possible violations which may have affected worker health and safety at St. Clare�s, this matter is still under investigation and the department has up to two years to complete its investigation and consider whether charges should be laid.

"I want to assure workers and employers that my department will not tolerate situations where a worker�s health and safety are in danger," said Minister Langdon. "My staff have and will continue to shut down operations where immediate hazards exist."

During the course of the inspection in January, the department�s occupational health and safety officer did review the St. John�s Health Care Corporation�s asbestos management plan and determined that it needed improvement. Consequently, the officer issued a number of directives on areas to be included in its management plan.

"To say however, that asbestos removal cannot take place safely without a satisfactory plan in place is not accurate," said the minister. The most important aspect of asbestos removal is that it be done in accordance with the asbestos abatement regulations, which are the most stringent in the country. These regulations ensure that strict measures are put in place before removal is carried out.

Minister Langdon stated that while a plan is important for the management of asbestos within the entire building, in some cases, renovations and maintenance activities can proceed while the overall plan is being developed, provided equivalent procedures are afforded in accordance with provincial regulations.

"The concerns that have been raised in The Telegram articles highlight two important, globally recognized aspects of occupational health and safety," said Langdon. "First, health and safety in the workplace is the responsibility of employers and employees; and second, it is important for employers and employees to communicate effectively, individually and with the occupational health and safety committees, to ensure workplace health and safety issues are adequately addressed."

The department wishes to advise that based on the information it has reviewed up to now in respect of this issue, workers who worked or continue to work at St. Clare�s should not be concerned about health problem arising from asbestos exposure.

Media contact: Sean Kelly, Director of Communications, (709) 729-2575.

2000 06 02                                                 4:05 p.m.