The city must spend $222,000 overhauling the ventilation system at its Osborne Street transit garage or face having part of the facility closed because of a health hazard to workers.

A report to be presented to the city's works and operations committee today says that unless bus exhaust fumes are reduced on a service line where city buses are fuelled, serviced, cleaned and washed, there is "no doubt" the province's workplace safety and health branch will order the service line closed.

The exhaust fumes contain nitrogen dioxide which at peak servicing periods has reached twice the maximum concentrations for human exposure, said Rick Borland, director of city transit.

Dick Metselaar, a member of the Amalgamated Transit Union's workplace safety and health committee, said workers have gone home sick because of exhaust fumes on the service line.

Besides nausea, workers have suffered "severe headaches, burning throats and burning eyes."

Although none of the Winnipeg Transit workers has had to be hospitalized because of the fumes, the union is concerned because other data indicates nitrogen dioxide may be linked to lung disease and cancer, Metselaar said.

He said the union has been trying to get the city to do something about it for five years.

This year the union called in a provincial inspector who threatened to close the service area, Metselaar said. "We have just said, 'Look, something has got to be done, this is unreal.'

"You walk in there and it's blue. You can't see the back door from the front door because of the exhaust," said Metselaar, adding the garage is about 10–12 bus lengths from front to back.

A consultant has recommended the city spend $98,000 modifying the ventilation system and $80,000 on a heat reclamation system so the improved ventilation system will not lead to heat losses. About $44,000 would be left for contingency and engineering fees.

Borland said action on the problem has been delayed because until recently the city lacked equipment to test nitrogen dioxide levels.

He said the modifications to the ventilation system are intended to reduce nitrogen dioxide levels to about 1.5 parts per million parts of air. The recommended maximum level for long term exposure is three parts per million.

The city report says "immediate action is required in addressing the problem since the service area at Fort Rouge garage has been operating with all doors open during the summer months to dilute the nitrogen (di)oxide levels."

"These doors will shortly have to be closed since the equipment in the service area is not designed to operate in sub-zero Celcius weather."

The report says as much as three months may be needed to tender and complete the work.

Borland said his department received the consultant's report just last week.

The city began testing nitrogen dioxide levels last February after complaints from the union.

Readings found a "severe problem" at the Osborne Street service line, built about 15 years ago, while there were "problems to a lesser extent" at the nearby Fort Rouge storage area and at the storage area of another garage in north St. James, says the report.

Borland said the city is hoping some changes in procedure — such as instructing drivers not to spend too much time in the storage areas — will deal with problems there and changes to the ventilation systems will not be needed.

Metselaar said the union still is concerned about fumes in the storage areas — will deal with problems there and changes to the ventilation systems will not be needed.

Metselaar said the union still is concerned about fumes in the storage areas, where buses are warmed up before going on the road.

However he said the storage areas are not as serious a concern as the service line. While a bus driver might sit in the storage area for 10 minutes warming up his bus, "it's not like working in there eight hours steady" as service line workers do.