Several guards at the Cape Breton (Nova Scotia, Canada) Correctional Facility remain off the job this week, awaiting the results of asbestos testing at the prison.

According to a Canadian Press article, some guards stopped coming to work last Thursday night when they learned that the prison may have a potential asbestos problem.

Joan Jessome, president of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, announced that a group of guards attended an emergency union meeting Friday night to discuss the issue and to clarify the findings.

“There’s very strong support for the position they’ve taken,” said Jessome. “It’s my understanding that they’re not going back (to work) until the results are in.”

The facility is 33 years old and was built during a time when asbestos use was quite commonly used as a fire retardant. During routine air testing by the Justice Department on May 8, asbestos material was found wrapped around some piping inside the institution.

However, department spokeswoman Sherri Aikenhead has said no traces of the cancer-causing mineral were found, but a second round of testing was conducted on Saturday and results were expected early in the week.

Aikenhead stressed that when asbestos is left undisturbed, “it’s not considered a health hazard.”
Jessome said an inmate staged a complaint about asbestos last fall and Aikenhead confirmed that the maintenance staff at Cape Breton Correctional Facility was aware of the problem. However, nothing had been done to address the issue after the complaint.

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