1990-06-20 Civic Centre, Ottawa, ON, Canada

Notes

OTTAWA - At approximately 12:30 p.m. on June 20, 1990, Bass Clef Entertainment and Lansdowne Park staff were informed by the management of Depeche Mode that the band would not be appearing tonight as scheduled, at the Ottawa Civic Centre because of their concerns regarding asbestos in the building.

Asbestos containing material (ACM) was applied as a fireproofing treatment during the original building construction in 1967-68. The material was indentified in December 1988 during a pre-renovation inspection. Since that time, Lansdowne Park staff have developed an Asbestos Abatement Program for the monitoring and management of the substance, leading to its scheduled removal in July 1990.

The abatement program has included the immediate removal of asbestos from key areas and the implementation of controls to prevent the displacement of ACM, so as to reduce any potential for health risks.

As part of the City of Ottawa's committment to provide a safe, hazardous free environment for all it's public facilities, a local, fully certified environmental consulting firm has been retained throughout this period to oversee the Asbestos Abatement Programme, including the on-going monitoring of air quality and asbestos removal.

The Abatement programme, to date, has been conducted with strict compliance with provincial regulations and at no time has the safety of the public been jeopardized.

This level of quality control will continue for the duration of the asbestos removal project and Lansdowne Park staff will continue with "business as usual" throughout this period.

It cannot be overemphasized that there is no public health hazard for the participants using Lansdowne Park facilities during this period, and that the general public should continue to enjoy the many activities being presented on a year round basis at Lansdowne Park.

Source: Canada News Wire

JD Fanger said later in 1990 in BONG magazine:

"In Ottawa, the road crew discovered Blue Asbestos in the roof structure of the venue, some of which was dislodged during an inspection of the beams which would support the equipment. The mess was subsequently cleaned up by a man in a moonsuit and breathing apparatus would you believe? To proceed with their work would have caused further dislodgement of asbestos particles, and the road crew felt that this would expose them to further contamination, and that if the show went ahead, the band and audience would also be exposed, and so the work was stopped. We were given no prior warning that this building contained Blue Asbestos."

Furthermore, Alan answered this question on Shunt Q&A:

• From: Dave Condon
• E-mail: [email protected]

Do you remember why you guys cancelled the Ottawa show of the 'Violator' tour?

I think there was a risk of asbestos poisoning from the building and the crew weren't allowed to work - something like that.

Go to 1990-06-21 CFNY 102.1 FM, Toronto, Canada to listen to CFNY radio report on the situation.