Toxic chemicals in hangar made B.C. aviation workers sick
Former Cascade Aerospace employees say they've lost their health, careers
Last Updated: Monday, January 12, 2009 | 6:52 PM PT
By Kathy Tomlinson, CBC News
Former Cascade Aerospace workers Paul Atton, Marlene Moore and Mark Churcher, left to right, say repeated exposures to toxic chemicals made them chronically ill. (CBC) Several B.C. aviation technicians are speaking out after being exposed to harmful levels of highly toxic chemicals while working in a hangar in Abbotsford, B.C.
"The whole one side of my face went numb. I lost vision in my eye," recalled former Cascade Aerospace aircraft maintenance engineer Marlene Moore. "I actually had to go to the bathroom and look in the mirror to see if I was having a stroke."
CBC News interviewed seven former and current Cascade employees, who called the stripping and painting of aircraft using toxic chemicals the company's "dirty little secret".
Former mechanic got 'stoned' from paint
"I started to get rashes and getting stoned every time they would paint," said Rob Neis, who said he began working for Cascade in 1998 as an aircraft mechanic and started getting sick in 2001.
Former Cascade aircraft maintenance engineer Paul Atton said: "I finally went to them [Cascade] and I said, 'Listen, you know I am sick every day at work and I am sick every day at home — I can't work here.' "
Cascade Aerospace CEO David Schellenberg tells Go Public reporter Kathy Tomlinson that problems in the hangar have been addressed. (CBC) Cascade Aerospace is a successful B.C. firm that recently won a multimillion-dollar contract to service Canadian military aircraft.
Back in December 2000, it opened a huge, new hangar — a facility that can hold eight full-size planes — in Abbotsford to strip down commercial aircraft and rebuild them. Then, the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackings occurred.
Company CEO David Schellenberg acknowledged to CBC News that Cascade suffered a serious downturn in 2001.
"It was a really tough time in our industry," Schellenberg said. "Because we were primarily servicing U.S. airlines." Several workers said that the pressure was on to get jobs done with maximum efficiency.
Cascade had installed a curtain and ventilation system around an open paint bay in the hangar. Painters began stripping and painting aircraft, wearing full respirators, while people were working on other projects nearby without full protective gear.
"No company I ever worked for before allowed other people in the hangar when an aircraft was being painted or stripped," Atton said.
Formic acid spread, records show
The first serious, documented incident of chemical exposure happened March 16, 2002, during the weekend shift. Records show that painters applied a paint stripper containing formic acid, and several people became violently ill.
"Within about an hour … people began to complain of the vapours and feel unwell. A number of people went home for the day," reads a Cascade bulletin to employees dated March 20, 2002.
According to the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, exposure to formic acid can cause blurred vision, sore throat, cough, laboured breathing and even unconsciousness. The U.S. Department of Labour states prolonged exposure to formic acid can damage the central nervous system, as well as the lungs, liver and kidneys.
Cascade's hangar in Abbotsford, B.C., holds eight aircraft. Painting could be done on one plane while workers serviced others. (CBC) Mark Churcher, a Cascade maintenance engineer who was working that day but is now off work on long-term disability, remembers people throwing up in garbage cans.
"In the first aid room, there were 10 to 20 people there basically all feeling the same," he said. "The company, the supervisor, said go out and get some fresh air and then … go and see your doctor if you want and just go home."
WorkSafeBC, the provincial workers compensation board, was called in to investigate. A report by environmentalist Ian Solomon, dated May 10, confirmed the presence of formic acid — reaching up to 2,200 parts per million — in dust samples tested throughout the hanger, one month after the initial application of the paint stripper.
At one point, Solomon noted, the air outside the lunch room contained 40 parts per million of formic acid. The U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health classifies an airborne formic acid concentration above 30 ppm as "immediately dangerous to life or health."
Solomon concluded the hangar's exhaust fans were bringing in only 10 per cent of the fresh air required to cleanse the space. He also found the paint bay's curtain inadequate to contain the toxic fumes.
"The airborne spray mist will have been spread throughout the accessible areas," Solomon wrote. "Whatever contaminated dust remains has probably been re-circulated into the air inside the plant on several occasions."
CBC News has obtained documents outlining several other incidents at Cascade of health problems after painting or paint stripping, dating up to 2004.
"The hangar used to fill full of fumes to the point where they evacuated, I would estimate, every four months," former Cascade engineer Moore said.
All seven employees interviewed said they still have ongoing, serious health problems, including chronic pain, headaches, cognitive problems, exhaustion and skin rashes. Most report that their symptoms become much worse following any exposure to chemicals.
Five of the employees interviewed by CBC said they can no longer work in their field and have put in long-term claims for compensation with WorkSafeBC. So far, those claims have all been denied.
'Issues over the years' addressed: Cascade CEO
"We've had various problems or issues over the years, but they have been addressed," Cascade CEO Schellenberg said.
He pointed out that three of the five employees who no longer work there received undisclosed settlements from the company's insurer, Sun Life. Another is still receiving long-term disability payments. Employees and former employees can't sue Cascade for workplace-related problems because that's an area covered by WorkSafeBC.
WorkSafeBC found that this ventilation system in the hangar was inadequate. (Submitted by a Cascade employee) Because their claims for long-term compensation have been denied, though, Schellenberg said the company will not do any more for them.
"In every single case, WorkSafeBC's conclusion was that any of their health issues or problems did not arise out of the course of employment here at Cascade," he said.
"We have a very deeply rooted concern for the health and welfare of our employees."
Moore remonstrated: "They were quick to send us in when the job needed to get done, but they aren't taking care of us now. I know of 10 people whose lives are totally destroyed."
Lloyd Hikida, a manager for occupational health services at WorkSafeBC, acknowledged that the workers did suffer from their initial exposures, and that they are ill now, but he said there isn't enough proof to link cause and effect.
"There wasn't enough evidence to be able to conclude with confidence that the workers' symptoms were as a result of their employment," Hikida said.
Bruce Carruthers, a retired B.C. internist who specialized in illnesses involving chronic pain and multiple chemical sensitivities, disagreed. He saw several Cascade employees while was still practising, and said they are "very sick from exposure to the most serious chemicals."
Carruthers said WorkSafeBC's attitude toward chemical sensitivities is similar to other skeptics, adding: "A lot of people are in denial about worker exposures."
'No doubt' exposures caused illness: doctor
"If I was testifying in court, I would say there is no doubt their illnesses are linked to their exposure at Cascade," Carruthers said.
After reviewing documents on the case, Donald Stark, a physician and immune-system specialist who used to adjudicate cases for WorkSafeBC, said he would have awarded the employees full coverage.
"They were temporary exposures, but that doesn't mean the problem was temporary," Stark said. "It certainly could be that these were the trigger factor for more lasting or permanent damage.
Dr. Donald Stark says former Cascade employees should get compensation for current illnesses. (CBC) "From a medical perspective — and indeed the other doctors who've seen the patients would say that — there was something in the workplace that caused problems and is likely a factor in terms that are ongoing," Stark continued.
Complaints aren't limited to former employees. CBC News talked to current workers who said the situation has improved, but some people still have health issues.
A current Cascade employee, who didn't want to be named for fear of losing his job, said that "there's a whole lot of people who work there who still have problems. People come in here acting normal, and they leave twitchy."
"When they would paint the aircraft, I would call in sick those days," said another current employee. "Probably 30 to 40 people had symptoms over the years."
Three years ago, the employees at Cascade organized, and they are now members of the Canadian Auto Workers union. Union representative Gordon Piper told CBC News he is trying to help the former employees appeal their WorkSafeBC claims.
"These people are all dealing with multiple chemical sensitivity," known as MCS, Piper said. "They have a list of symptoms, but MCS is not on the list of illnesses recognized by WorkSafeBC."
The aviation industry is federally regulated. Cascade's hangar was visited by Human Resources Development Canada (as it was then called) in 2004, after complaints about the chemicals.
After a tour with company safety representatives, Melinda Lum of HRDC concluded "there are no violations in the regulation or code."
Several workers said Cascade did have the proper policies on paper, but the trouble was they often weren't followed because of pressure to get jobs done.
"Cascade Aerospace would set policies but then not follow through on them. They weren't held responsible [by the federal regulator] for anything," former Cascade technician Barb Tattersall said.
"It's not a paint shop," said one of the current workers. "You start painting an airplane, you have a whole hangar that's contaminated."
When asked how he felt about the workers who have left the company and are now sick, CEO Schellenberg responded, "I've not talked to them in some time."
He added, "We wish them well. We're sorry that they are ill and we wish them all the best."
