Renovating or demolishing houses containing asbestos products can release asbestos fibres, which are extremely fine and can stay in the air for hours. Breathing in asbestos fibres may cause serious health problems, including lung disease and cancer.

Asbestosis is the name given to scarring and stiffening of the lungs caused by inhaling asbestos dust over many years. It makes breathing difficult and may lead to fatal diseases such as pneumonia and heart disease. Exposure to asbestos can also cause lung cancer and mesothelioma, which is a rare cancer of the linings of the lungs and abdomen.

Asbestos-related diseases usually develop many years after a person has been exposed to asbestos. The risk of developing these diseases increases with the amount of asbestos in the air you inhale and the length of time you are exposed.

When you are renovating or demolishing an older house, there is a very high probability of encountering asbestos containing building materials. Homes built from the early 1920s to the late 1990s are known to contain multiple types of asbestos containing products. There are hundreds of different asbestos containing building materials above and beyond insulation. Small percentages as low as 0.5% content pose a health risk to one’s health and need to be removed by a qualified and experienced abatement contractor.

• Roofing materials
• Shingles
• Transit panels
• Rolled roofing
• Tars
• Flooring materials
• Floor tile and mastics
• Linoleum and sheet flooring and mastics
• Wall and ceiling materials
• Dry wall
• Joint compound
• Hard Plaster
• Acoustical Plaster
• Sheet rock
• Transit panels
• Pipe, duct, and tank insulation
• Fireproofing
• Window glazing and caulking
• Vermiculite (wall and attic insulation)
• Glues (carpet, tile, or construction adhesives)
• Fake snow

The answer is yes if it. your primary residence.  We do not recommend that you try on your own, but it is legal. As far as disposal you must check with your waste disposal company to see if it is ok to put the waste generated from this operation in the garbage can.

If your house was built prior to 1990, it is required by WorkSafeBC that you test for asbestos and lead prior to renovation and demolition. An Epoch Environmental technician adheres to WorkSafeBC’s minimum sampling guidelines when collecting suspected building materials. They are sent to an accredited laboratory, Epoch Analytical for testing.

It is not recommended that you collect samples on your own as you may not have knowledge about which materials may contain and where they may be concealed. Asbestos fibres are microscopic and cannot be identified with the naked eye. Furthermore, most city demolition permit processes require a Qualified Professional to conduct the Hazardous Materials Survey/Assessment.

You can’t identify asbestos by looking at it. Asbestos fibers are microscopic. The only way to confirm its presence is to take a sample of the material and have it tested by an accredited laboratory.

Asbestos is often mixed with other materials. If you work in a building built before 1990, it’s likely that at least some parts of the building will contain asbestos.
There are over 3000 construction and industrial products.

Common applications include:

Most products made today do not contain asbestos. Those few products made which still contain asbestos that could be inhaled are required to be labeled as such. However, until the 1970s, many types of building products and insulation materials used in homes contained asbestos. Common products that might have contained asbestos in the past, and conditions which may release fibers, include:

• STEAM PIPES, BOILERS, and FURNACE DUCTS insulated with an asbestos blanket or asbestos paper tape. These materials may release asbestos fibers if damaged, repaired, or removed improperly.
• RESILIENT FLOOR TILES (vinyl asbestos, asphalt, and rubber), the backing on VINYL SHEET FLOORING, and ADHESIVES used for installing floor tile. Sanding tiles can release fibers. So may scraping or sanding the backing of sheet flooring during removal.
• CEMENT SHEET, MILLBOARD, and PAPER used as insulation around furnaces and woodburning stoves. Repairing or removing appliances may release asbestos fibers. So may cutting, tearing, sanding, drilling, or sawing insulation.
• DOOR GASKETS in furnaces, wood stoves, and coal stoves. Worn seals can release asbestos fibers during use.
• SOUNDPROOFING OR DECORATIVE MATERIAL sprayed on walls and ceilings. Loose, crumbly, or water-damaged material may release fibers. So will sanding, drilling, or scraping the material.
• PATCHING AND JOINT COMPOUNDS for walls and ceilings, and TEXTURED PAINTS. Sanding, scraping, or drilling these surfaces may release asbestos.
• ASBESTOS CEMENT ROOFING, SHINGLES, and SIDING. These products are not likely to release asbestos fibers unless sawed, dilled, or cut.
• ARTIFICIAL ASHES AND EMBERS sold for use in gas-fired fireplaces. Also, other older household products such as FIREPROOF GLOVES, STOVE-TOP PADS, IRONING BOARD COVERS, and certain HAIRDRYERS.

You will need a permit from the city or municipality for pre-demolition or pre-renovation work. The requirements vary from city to city, so please contact City Hall directly. A Notice of Project must be filed with WorkSafeBC by the employer, owner, or prime contractor for any asbestos work at least 48 hours before starting construction work activities. A copy of the completed from must be posted at the worksite before asbestos removal activities commence.

A Clearance Letter is a document used by industry to tell their clients or other stakeholders (e.g. demolition contractors) that asbestos has been removed and the building is safe to demolish. You can request a clearance letter from the surveyor or contractor, even if a permit was not required for your renovation.

Before the city grants pre-renovation or pre-demolition permit, the city may require a Clearance Letter from the asbestos surveyor or asbestos abatement contractor. Asbestos testing labs do not produce Clearance Letters.

When an abatement work site is not meeting compliance with WorkSafeBC Ocuppational and Safety regulations, the site can be ordered to stop work and shut down until compliance orders are addressed and corrected. A full investigation will ensue by a WorksafeBC officer who will thoroughly inpect your site and corresponding documentation. It is always worthwhile to choose a qualified contractor and/or professional to help conduct your project safely and lawfully. Hiring an unqualified or untrustworthy contractor may be significantly cheaper than the competition, but the risk of doing so may incurr unnecessary delays and additional financial burden to your budget if your site is shut down by WorkSafeBC.

Should the abatement contractor also conduct the air monitoring?

Air monitoring must be conducted by a third party laboratory or consulting agency. It should never be conducted by the abatement contracting staff. This is a serious conflict of interest and is not an acceptable industry practise.

How do I find a qualified abatement contractor?

WorkSafeBC does not maintain a director of abatement contractors nor does the province license them. This means, you must be extremely vigilant in who you hire for abatement services. We recommend the BC Hazardous Materials Association of BC and checking their credentials and verifying their rating at the Better Business Bureau. We recommend our affiliate company, Universal Environmental Services which has been operating since 1994 and is a member of both associations.

The cost of a Hazardous Materials Inspection varies on the following factors:

Should the abatement contractor also conduct the air monitoring?

• Size of building in square feet;
• # of samples taken from the building as per WorkSafeBC minimum sampling requirements;
  Location and distance of building;
• Accessiblity of the building;
• Any other safety considerations;

Please contact us today for a free quotation based on the information you provide to us.