The supervisor of a project to remove asbestos from the skywalk connecting the RBC Convention Centre to the Delta Hotel said a sign posted to warn people of asbestos is no cause for concern.
“It’s safe,” said Kurt Reykdal, an asbestos supervisor with Advanced Environmental Services Inc. “Asbestos has been removed [on one half of walkway]. Air sampling has been done and it’s been cleared that there is no asbestos fibres inside.”
Work on the south side of the walkway is complete. Workers are now preparing to remove asbestos from the north side.
The sign posted on plywood in the skywalk warned: “Asbestos may cause cancer, causes damage to lungs” and for people to “wear respiratory protection and protective clothing in this area.” Some people passing through the skywalk Thursday worried they could be at risk.
“I want to spend as little time in it as possible,” said Abby Sereda, who uses the skywalk often. “You know it’s not good for your health.”
Rekydal said the asbestos was in the joint compound in the drywall resting two feet below the skywalk windows. Carpet had covered it until their work to remove it. The work space is now sealed off with two layers of plastic, with duct tape and plywood.
According to a national asbestos inventory created by Public Services and Procurement Canada (formerly Public Works), Winnipeg has at least 22 buildings which contain asbestos. All of them have an asbestos management plan in place. City Place, the Via Rail Station, and Winnipeg Square made that list.
A spokesperson with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said asbestos was widely used in buildings up to the 1990s, and asbestos remediation can be done properly.
“If it is, there shouldn't be risk to public. The health risk is occurs when it is disturbed enough to create dust that can be inhaled. When undisturbed, it wouldn't be in the air to be inhaled,” a spokesperson for the WRHA wrote in an email.
A spokesperson with the city said the air-tight hoarding walls that create the corridor enable safe public use of the walkways during the abatement process.
