Interior Health fined $800K over asbestos at Kamloops care facility

WorkSafeBC has fined the Interior Health Authority almost $800,000 for drilling into a wall that contained asbestos at a long-term care facility in Kamloops.

According to a June 11 WorkSafeBC penalty notice, A Kamloops long-term care facility was installing new telecommunication lines, which involved drilling into drywall that contained asbestos. The work took place in areas used by staff.

“WorkSafeBC determined the employer failed to ensure those who received reports of unsafe or harmful conditions investigated the conditions and took necessary corrective action without delay, a repeated violation,” the penalty notice reads. “The employer also failed to ensure that before any work that may disturb asbestos-containing materials began, a qualified person conducted a risk assessment.”

The penalty notice doesn’t name the Kamloops long-term care facility or say when the infraction took place.

WorkSafeBC issued a fine of $783,068.

The provincial safety regulator says that Interior Health failed to develop and implement an exposure control plan that met regulatory requirements.

“(Interior Health) failed… to ensure that procedures for controlling and handling asbestos were acceptable to WorkSafeBC, and to take the necessary precautions to protect workers before allowing work that would disturb asbestos-containing materials.”

WordSafeBC says it inspected the site in response to reports that asbestos may have been disturbed. WorkSafeBC says these were all high-risk violations.