B.C. business owner fined $20K after exposing unwitting workers to asbestos

The owner of a Surrey, B.C., drywall recycling company has been fined $20,000 after he knowingly exposed workers to asbestos without telling them.

Vivesh Kochner pleaded guilty to Workers Compensation Act charges last month, more than two years after violating a stop-work order at a property where inspectors had found the cancer-causing substance.

WorkSafeBC said Kochner hired a third-party contractor to clear asbestos-containing material from the worksite, but never informed the workers asbestos was present or provided them with the required personal protective equipment.

As many as 15 people were exposed to asbestos as a result.

"More than half of all work-related fatalities are from occupational diseases, of which the majority are from exposure to asbestos," said Al Johnson, WorkSafeBC's head of prevention services, in a statement.

"We cannot, and will not, tolerate employers endangering the lives of workers. There are profound consequences for this kind of egregious disregard for worker health and safety."

On top of his fine, Kochner was ordered to pay a victim surcharge and banned from owning or operating any type of business that involves the management, handling or disposal of asbestos.

He had already voluntarily dissolved his company, AVR Drywall Recycling Ltd., after being caught in 2019.

Prosecutors noted Kochner sent the contracted workers onto the closed worksite on Remembrance Day – a statutory holiday – which they believe was likely done because it "provided him with a lower likelihood of detection," according to a quote from the Crown's submissions supplied by WorkSafeBC.

Asbestos is the number one killer of B.C. workers, according to agency. WorkSafeBC said it has accepted roughly 600 claims for work-related deaths related to asbestos exposure over the last 10 years.