Public health: a building contaminated with asbestos in the heart of Montreal

Photo Agence QMI, Maxime Deland

QMI agency

Sunday, 9 July, 2017 15:49

UPDATE
Sunday, 9 July, 2017 15:53

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Following the suspension of remediation work, a historic building in the chinese district of Montreal, which has flamed last fall, the City is now facing a public health problem.

A significant amount of asbestos has been found inside the remains of the building that is now blocked off with plastic sheets. The asbestos was discovered shortly after the fire at the heritage building, which occurred on November 17, 2016.

The building was a former cinema, which had been screened the first film in Canada.

The standards Commission, equity, health and safety in the workplace (CNESST) was adopted to decontaminate the place as quickly as possible so that it can be demolished.

A costly move

However, as the owner of the property burned is gone, the contractor in charge of the clean-up has stopped the work he had undertaken.

“The owner didn’t want to decontaminate because it was too expensive, it would have cost not far from $ 500,000,” was said at the time another contractor who would renovate the building before it shoots up.

It now estimates the cost of decontamination work between 600 000 and 800 000 $.

For the moment, the City prefers not to intervene even if asbestos fibres can escape into the air and, possibly, make people sick.

“We evaluate all the possibilities so that the situation is corrected. Remember that the responsibility for the building, regardless of the state in which it is located, is entirely up to the owner,” replied the City by e-mail.

The City could raise a legal mortgage to force the work.