BURNABY, B.C. – Following an announcement by the British Columbia government that it is taking steps to build an inventory of provincial government buildings built before 1990 and containing asbestos, the B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union (BCGEU) applauded the move in March 27 news release. The union called the plan “a significant step in ensuring worker safety during construction, maintenance and renovation of government buildings,” adding that the inventory will cover 758 buildings, 451 of which are leased by the province. “It is unacceptable that workers are still being unknowingly exposed to asbestos in 2017. We have known about its deadly effects since the 1980s,” BCGEU president Stephanie Smith said in a press statement. “It is time for the government to move forward with this provincial inventory.” The release noted that the project could take as long as four years to complete, due to the number of buildings being listed. Asbestos-related disease is the leading cause of occupational fatality in B.C., and 44 per cent of accepted work-related deaths in 2016 were linked to asbestos exposure, according to information from WorkSafeBC, the province’s workers’ compensation board.