Workers at Mill Exposed to Asbestos
Work at a mill in central New Brunswick, Canada had to be halted and more than 100 workers evacuated when asbestos dust was accidentally released late last week.
According to an article on CBC News, cleanup is beginning at the AV Nackawic Mill after wall siding containing asbestos was punctured last week. About 100 contract workers were sent home and were told they could return to work when cleanup was complete.
Testing taking place since the time of the accident indicated no release of particles inside the mill and mill president Peter Vinall believes that the incident did not put anyone’s health in danger.
The workers, who have been off-site since the puncture, don’t need to worry, Vinall said.
“This is low-grade asbestos material that’s used throughout the mill,” he said. “All the areas have this kind of cladding … As far as I’m concerned, they don’t need to be concerned.”
Some workers, however, are concerned about the overall safety at the mill and say the asbestos incident is just one of many that put them at risk on a regular basis.
Andrew Dawson, a representative of the mill’s labor union said: “A lot of the guys do have concerns over the safety of the mill although I think it would be inaccurate to say the mill is an unsafe site,”
