If a recent OHS-related case in Nova Scotia is any indication, health and safety officers may now be required to go beyond their traditional responsibilities to help mitigate risks. One health and safety coordinator had to learn this the hard way: through a conviction. Last September, James Delia Valle, health and safety coordinator at the Cape Breton Island Housing Authority (CBIHA), was found guilty of failing to "take every reasonable precaution" to protect the safety of employees and tenants after tests showed that vermiculite insulation used in housing unit attics contained asbestos. The charge under the provinces Occupational Health and Safety Act related to the months between October 2005, when Delia Valle received the test results, and April 2006, when the results became known to the CBIHA director and the first steps were taken to remove the insulation.
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