The Crown Corporation, which operates ferry services between the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, has decided to offer asbestos testing to its employees after it was discovered that asbestos was found on the vessel as long ago as 1990.

Though measures were taken to encapsulate the material when the discovery was first made nearly 18 years ago, recently-posted signs that warned of the presence of asbestos aboard the ferry ignited new concerns among employees.

According to a press release, between thirty and sixty staff members will be offered the medical assessments, which include pulmonary tests to detect the presence of asbestos fibers in the lungs. Asbestos is a known carcinogen which can cause the aggressive cancer mesothelioma.

All of the employees for whom testing is recommended work on a fortnight on, fortnight off basis on the MV Atlantic Freighter, which ferries passengers back and forth between the two provinces. The company is also contacting former workers and asking them to fill out a medical questionnaire to help determine the extent of past exposure.

“The encapsulation that was done back in 1990 had worn away and was damaged, so we’re not sure the amount of exposure that has taken place since then,” said one union official. “We’re concerned right now because they’ve only recently rediscovered this asbestos and no one… was aware there was asbestos all these years.”

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