Sudbury jail workers, inmates may have been exposed to asbestos

The union that represents workers at the Sudbury jail says some employees have likely been exposed to asbestos.

The Ministry of Correctional Services confirms the substance was found during renovations to the ventilation system.

The president of the OPSEU local that represents correctional workers and support staff at the Sudbury jail said asbestos was disturbed during the renovations, and it's believed some people were exposed to airborne fibres over a two-day period.

“While the contractor work was going on, it wasn't realized until sometime [later] that there was asbestos-containing material in that area,” Nathan Aubin said

There are 129 unionized workers at the Sudbury jail, he added. It's not clear exactly how many workers or inmates may have been exposed.

The Ministry said it was dealing with the concerns of asbestos by closing off the admitting and discharge area, as well as the tunnel between the Sudbury jail and the court house.

It also said that alternative arrangements for the admitting, discharging and transferring of inmates to and from courts have been established.

Workers are filling out Workplace Safety and Insurance Board forms to document the exposure in case of health issues later, Aubin said.

Asbestos exposure can cause forms of lung cancer.

While sections of the jail remain closed, alternate arrangements have been made for admitting, discharging and transferring inmates to and from courts.

Sudbury's John Howard society is calling on the ministry to provide more information on the potential asbestos exposure at the jail.

Executive director John Rimore said former inmates should be informed about what happened.

"It may be difficult to call them up because they may not have phones, or to send them a letter because they may not have an address," he said.

"And that is why advising other organizations that do visit inmates at the Sudbury jail would be very productive because the inmates may indeed be coming to see us for service of one sort or another. I think that they should be trying to contact these inmates and advising them that they should see a health professional just for a baseline test."

Rimore said it's unlikely inmates were exposed to asbestos fibres for any length of time, because of where the asbestos was found.