LIONS GATE. HOSPITAL Maternity ward asbestos to be removed THE COMPLEX and delicate operation to remove asbestos from Lions Gate Hospital ceiling material will delay con- struction on the hospital’s new $2.4 million maternity ward by up to six weeks. Tenders have been called to remove the car:cer-causing material from the ceiling in the area desig- nated for the new maternity facili- ty, but hospital president Robert Smith said the procedure will still push back construction schedules on the maternity ward by four to six weeks. The strictness of regulations governing «asbestos removal, he By TIMOTHY RENSHAW News Reporter said, ‘‘came as a surprise to us. We didn’t know the extent of protocol! required. It’s pretty rigorous.”’ Asbestos is in hospital ceiling materials throughout the main hospital area and the old LGH building, but not in the hospital’s northern expansion wing, which was added in 1978. . Though it presents no health hazard when it is stationary, asbestos becomes extremely dan- gerous when its fibres are released into the air. Asbestos breathed into the lungs can cause asbestosis, a chronic lung disease; lung carcer; and mesothelioma, a very rare but ex- tremely malignant cancer that af- fects the chest and abdominal lin- ing. Hinesses resulting from inhaling asbestos can take decades to sur- face. But Smith said removal of the asbestos at the hospital will present no health hazard to hospital workers or putients because the area will be sealed off during the work, In addition, he said the area will be carefully ventilated and _ at- mospheric moisture levels con- trolled to keep asbestos dust to a minimum. Asbestos removed will be placed in bags before disposal. “It's a very complex procedure, no question about it,’’ Smith said. Work to remove the asbestos is scheduled to get under way in early June. A campaign to raise the mbar) NEWS photo Cindy Goodman A PLAYER from the Mufutira Club, Zambia, escapes the reaches of two players from Capilano Rugby Club. The team had to leave Vancouver 12 days prior to its scheduled departure because it ran cut of funds budgeted to attend the international rugby festival held on the Lower Mainland. ZAMBIANS RUN OUT OF MONEY Rugby club bails out visiting team THE CAPILANO Rugby Club needed more than a big heart when it played host to a team from Zambia — it also needed a big pocket book. The Mufulira Club, the first Af- rican rugby team to tour Canada, came to Vancouver May 9 to par- ticipate in an international rugby festival, but it left Wednesday morning, nine days before its scheduled departure, because the team ran out of money, “They left with virtually nothing in their pockets,’’ said Tony Scott, president of Capilano Rugby Club. “We, as a club, have been financ- ing them for over a week.” Scott estimates that Capilano and the Vancouver Rugby Union, of which it is a member, spent ‘*‘a good $3,000°° on the team from Zambia. This figure includes the hotel bill for the team’s first night in Vancouver before they were billeted with Capilano players, and the $2,000 penalty levied by the airline for changing the departure By ELIZABETH COLLINGS News Reporter date of the team's return tickets. In addition,Capilano billeted the 28 African players, with some families taking as many as four players. The team also provided meals at the clubhouse. Capilano further paid for the Mufulira Club to travel to Kamloops by bus for a game. The Kamloops team billeted the club and drove them back to Van- couver, Bob Michael, Capilano’s vice- president, said Mufulira’s organizer made some ‘major mistakes’’ when arranging the tour of the Lower Mainland. He said the team was booked to leave Vancouver June 2, 12 days after the rugby festival was over. Scott said he had two players billeted with him and his wife, and his parents also took two billets. At the same time, Capilano was billeting a team from Liverpool, so the club of 75 was hosting a total of 66 billets during the week of the rugby festival. “It put quite a strain on the club,”’ Scott said, adding that he was impressed with the spirit and support from Capilano. Although the Mufulira’s Club had been raising funds for some time and was sponsored in part by the Zambian government, Scott said the club had no idea of the cost of living in Vancouver. Scott said the Zambians came from a smal] mining town near the Zaire border where the average in- come is about $100 per month. Only three players had ever left Zambia, Michael said, and some members sacrificed as much as a year’s wages for the trip. “It was an educating experience for them. Most of these people hadn’t been out of Zambia. Some of the things we take for granted, they had no concept of,’’ Scott said, adding that some had never seen toasters or microwaves be- fore.”’ **They were overwhelmed by the beauty and immensity of Van- couver,’’ Michael said. The team spoke perfect English, Michael said, but was suffering from culture shock. ‘‘They weren’t travellers.’’ Each rugby club in the Lower Mainland invited a team from overseas to participate in the in- ternational rugby festival, a week- long event of exhibition games to mark the centennial year of rugby in B.C. Capilano paid for its guests from club revenues, which are generated by fund raisers and charities. Scott said the unexpected expenditure will set Capilano back in its efforts to build a $700,000 complex at Klahanie Park in West Vancouver. 3 - Sunday, May 28, 1989 - North Shore News estimated $500,000 for new mater- nity ward equipment was kicked off May 14. The Greater Vancouver Regional District recently approved $200,000 for birthing beds, fetal monitors and an operating room table for the ward, but the con- tribution is over and above the $500,000 the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation hopes to raise from area residents and businesses. Smith estimated that thus far $322,000 of the $500,000 has been raised. “So we are not out of the woods yet,’’ he said. Doliarton park inaction slammed SAVE OUR Shores (SOS) members are calling North Vancouver District officials “‘gutless’’ for not taking ac- tion to designate the Mat- sumoto Shipyard Dollarton foreshore as future park space. Said SOS vice-president Fred O'Hagan: ‘‘There’s no question this council has to have the guts to designate this area as Parks, Rec- reation and Open space (PRO). They're just not addressing it. Every time we poke our noses around in city hall, they just slam the door in our face. The district doesn't have to expropriate.” Last year, the SOS group suc- cessfully fought the proposed con- struction of a $35 million, 129- unit, residential development on approximately: four acres of foreshore property owned by longtime North Shore resident and businessman Sam Matsumoto. , O'Hagan argues the PRO desig- nation should be included in the district's new Official Community Plan (OCP). The OCP will be the focus of a public hearing May 30, 7:30 p.m, at Balmoral Junior Sec- ondary School. But said municipal planner Kai Kreuchen: ‘‘Council hasn't asked for a zoning change to PRO.”’ Kreuchen said the district had at- tempted to negotiate a land deal with Matsumoto last fall, but negotiations fell apart over price. Said North Vancouver District Ald. Rick Buchols: ‘‘As far as I’m aware, it’s on the back burner. Personally, whether we can find several more millions to purchase this land if we’re so inclined, may not be possible.’’ Buchols points to money already earmarked for the construction of recreational facilities at Parkgate and at recCentre Magnussen. ‘‘It’s 2 lot of money to buy that (the Matsumoto) property,’’ he said. A 1.5 acre portion of the land is presently zoned residential. A 2.26 acre parcel is zoned for industrial use. The price for the property has been estimated at anywhere from $3.8 million to $4.3 million. According to SOS president Lou Bonar, two separate property ap- praisals last year pegged the assessed value of the land at $1.25 million and $1.46 million. Meanwhile negotiations are under way between Matsumotoand a local subsea technology com- pany. According to a spokesperson for Hyco Technologies Corp., the company is currently working on a lease-purchase deal with Mat- sumoto for the Dollarton foreshore land.