I recently visited the CanSav website and read about the lives of people affected by asbestos-related illness.
Bob Katzka – founder of the Canadian Society for Asbestos Victims – emailed a link to the site when he introduced himself after finding my blog. I checked out his link right away – so glad he’d taken the time to write – and I noticed the site included a Tribute section.
That’s where I read about Bob’s father Michael, who died in 2008 from mesothelioma – a lung cancer nearly always caused by exposure to asbestos.
The tribute says Michael was only 18 – back in 1942 – when he joined the Canadian Navy and worked for two years on a ship that was “full of asbestos – the insulation, the boilers, etc.” After years of “excellent health,” Michael was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2007 and died four months later.
Value of sharing stories
Bob shared his father’s story and encourages others to do the same.
“By sharing experiences, those in pain may at least know the comfort that comes in the knowledge they are not alone,” reads the CanSav website.
“In many ways, the most significant and meaningful way to contribute is by sharing your own experiences with asbestos-related disease. Too many victims – those diagnosed as well as the people who love and care for them – have suffered under this burden alone.”
Photo credit: Per Ola Wiberg on Flickr
In addition to the tributes, the website includes links to articles on asbestos-related disease, support for people diagnosed with mesothelioma, information on exposure to asbestos in Canada, and links to more support.
WorkSafeBC’s HiddenKiller website includes information on what to do if you are concerned you have been exposed to asbestos or any other harmful substance at work.
Thanks to Bob for the introduction, and for all you’re doing for people faced with similar challenges to your dad’s.
Check out WorkSafeBC’s entertaining NAOSH Week music video. The song is based on the 80s hit “Making It Work,” from the Vancouver band Doug and the Slugs.
Recently I learned a new term – “dichotic listening” – for describing what we do in a noisy environment, like a cocktail party, where there are multiple conversations happening. Here’s a story about a group of workers used theirs to monitor voice mail greetings – one in each ear.
They did everything they were supposed to do – but something unexpected happened. An excavation crew was replacing a water main when they hit and ruptured a gas line. More than 100 people were evacuated, buses were re-routed, and roads were closed.
The executive director of the BC Construction Safety Alliance gave the thumbs-up to a new app that lets employers and homeowners request clearance letters from WorkSafeBC via smart phone.
It could be months before investigators know what started an explosion and fire that killed two workers and injured 19 on Jan. 20 at the Babine Mill in Burns Lake, BC. One possible cause is combustible dust explosion, but it’s still too early to know for sure. The CCOHS says things that may “seem like harmless substances” – including sugar, coal, wood dust, flour – can “become the fuel for an explosion.”
Let this post be an announcement to any construction employers who don’t yet know about WorkSafeBC’s construction nurses – available to them free of charge by phone for advice on injuries, disability management, return-to-work issues, and claims.
Here’s a new online resource for simplifying the early return-to-work process for injured workers – originally made for construction but generic enough for employers in any industry.
When the snow falls in Vancouver – as it has this January – the transit drivers have their work cut out for them. They navigate challenging roads, where vehicles slide at odd angles, and more passengers than usual line-up at snow-covered bus stops. Let’s thank them and think about how bus drivers stay safe on the job.
Why did this young worker – with less than three weeks on the job – fall 13 feet from a forklift onto a cement floor? This new slide show from WorkSafeBC explains what happened, including best practices for prevention.
