Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

The threat of carcinogenic asbestos from the W.R. Grace mine in Libby, Montana is very real and stretches farther than many may believe.  A day care center in the small Ontario city of Guelph has been evacuated due to the discovery of Vermiculite asbestos insulation.  The Willowdale Child Care and Learning Centre in Willow Street, Guelph has been temporarily evacuated until asbestos experts can determine the extent of the asbestos contamination and the best course of action.

The discovery was confirmed by Stantec Consulting, an architectural firm, upon testing of the suspect insulation.  Children and staff members were immediately moved to the nearby Family Gateway facility.  Until the Willowdale facility has been cleared, children must stay at home or be placed in other programs elsewhere.

Vermiculite was mined in Libby, Montana for years and then locally processed into insulation and many other products.  It was shipped by railcar all across the United States and Canada.  Unfortunately, the insulation contains high levels of carcinogenic asbestos.  Even small amounts of exposure to this deadly mineral can cause lung cancer, asbestosis (scarring of the lungs,) and mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer that kills nearly 3,000 Americans every year.

When interviewed by a local paper, warden Chris White said that his “. . . first priority is the health and safety of the children and staff at Willowdale.”

The danger from asbestos insulation or any other asbestos material occurs when the product either becomes damaged or disturbed in such a way that the asbestos fibers within become airborne.  When intact or properly contained, asbestos poses little threat to human health.

However, airborne asbestos fibers can easily be inhaled or ingested.  Once the fibers enter the body, they never leave.  These fibers can become trapped in the mesothelium, the thin membrane which lines the internal body cavities and surrounds the lungs, heart, and abdomen.  Once there, asbestos fibers develop into cancerous tumors which can spread to other parts of the body.

Additional testing at the Willowdale facility will determine the exact threat, if the asbestos was airborne, and if so, in what concentrations.

OSHA regulations state that asbestos fibers become unsafe at levels greater than one tenth of one fiber per liter of air.  However, it has been the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) stance for years that no amount of airborne asbestos can ever be considered safe.

This isn’t the first run-in with asbestos at the Willowdale facility.  In 2006, as part of a series of assessments, the county discovered asbestos around the pipes at the facility.  At that time, portions of the asbestos was abated but some of it, consider inaccessible at the time, was left in place.