WorkSafeBC has fined a Richmond asbestos abatement company $20,000 for safety violations at a Burnaby worksite, including falsifying air-quality test results.
Penta Done Construction Ltd. was the asbestos abatement contractor at a Burnaby house slated for demolition, according to WorkSafe inspection reports obtained by the NOW.
The location of the 1966 single-family home was redacted in the documents.
The house had asbestos in the ceiling, walls, furnace duct tape, sink undercoating mastic and chimney/roof vent flashing mastic, according to the reports.
On Nov. 1, 2023, a WorkSafe inspector visited the site as Penta Done was dismantling containment after removing the asbestos.
Penta Done said it had retained a consultant (J.M.A. Health and Safety Consulting Ltd.) to collect airborne asbestos fibre samples during the work, but the inspector said Penta Done could not provide valid laboratory analysis results for the samples.
The inspector noted Penta Done's representative was also the principal of J.M.A. Health and Safety Consulting Ltd.
The inspector concluded the company had not sampled for airborne asbestos fibres during the work.
The inspector also asked Penta Done for an air-clearance report to confirm the absence of airborne asbestos fibres after the removal of the asbestos.
The company emailed him a copy of a report containing laboratory analysis results from BC Asbestos Services Ltd. for two samples collected in October.
When the inspector contacted BC Asbestos Services Ltd., however, the lab said it had not analyzed the samples.
"The employer knowingly provided false information regarding the asbestos air samples and clearance air samples analysis results," states the WorkSafe report.
Penta Done was ordered to immediately retain a different third-party consultant to conduct "aggressive clearance air sampling" inside the work area.
WorkSafe then handed the company in $20,000 fine in December.
WorkSafe said the infractions were all "repeated violations."
Penta Done has asked for the penalty to be reviewed, according to WorkSafe.
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