Asbestos is on the minds of some Penticton residents who fear their apartments may have been contaminated with the toxic material.
They suspect they may have been exposed after asbestos was discovered in a neighbouring home being demolished.
Peter O’Donovan lives next door and was the first to sound the alarm that the house contained asbestos.
“Worksafe and the city showed up and shut them down,” O’Donovan said.
The demo site was prepped to make make sure none of the asbestos spread.
Andrew Tiel of Chase Valley Environmental deals with hazardous waste materials including asbestos. He said at no time were neighbours dangerously exposed to the toxic material.
“I took air samples on both sides of the property and both sides were below what is considered safe,” he said.
But Miranda Mezzatesta isn’t buying it.
Her son’s bedroom window is six-feet from the project and the two-year-old relies on machines to help him breath.
Mezzatesta said her son’s condition has been worsening and fears it may have something to do with the asbestos.
“He’s deteriorated. He’s not usually on the ventilator during the day,” she said.
Mazzatesta said someone from the project did come by and offered to test the air in her apartment but never followed through.
“He said he would be here to do an air quality test and he didn’t show up. Does he know something?”
Mezzatesta is being assured by Tiel she has nothing to worry about.
“They have not been contaminated with anything beyond what Health Canada considers very safe,” said Tiel.
But O’Donovan and other neighbours are not convinced and say only time will tell.
“Asbestos can take 10 to 15 years before you ever know you’ve been exposed to it, so we will see,” said O’Donovan.
- Joffre Lakes to close for 3 periods this year under agreement with First Nations
- ‘Why aren’t we doing more?’ White Rock on edge with killer on the loose
- B.C. carjacking victim says she doesn’t trust the ‘catch-and-release’ system
- Inquest into fatal Surrey hostage-taking recommends cameras for ERT teams
Comments