Indoor Air Quality Ottawa offers a full range of Hazardous Materials Consulting:  Shawn Rankin is qualified to conduct Designated Substance Surveys to determine if any designated substances are present at your site.  He can also prepare Hazardous Building Materials Assessment to inform how they may impact the project.

Under The Ministry of Labour regulations, the owner must provide the contractor with information on the presence of the following materials on any prospective construction site. (**)

Ontario has designated eleven substances:

• acrylonitrile
• arsenic
• asbestos
• benzene
• coke oven emissions
• ethylene oxide
• isocyanates
• lead
• mercury
• silica
• vinyl chloride

A major substance of concern is asbestos.  Stop Work orders have been issued in many instances because “Designated Substance Lists” were not provided and as a result proper procedures to protect workers were not in place.  Asbestos can be found in building and pipe insulation, floor tiles, wall and ceiling tiles, duct wrapping and wallboard joint compounds.

Ontario Regulation 278/05 came into effect on November 1, 2005 and the remaining sections came into force on November 1, 2007.  This regulation contains significant changes in methods and procedures relative to the previous Regulation, including:

• new requirements for clearance air testing
• a definition of asbestos-containing material, also referred to as ACM
• methods and procedures for determining whether building materials meet the definition of ACM
• maintenance of negative air pressure inside enclosures
• additional requirements for training
• procedures for the use of glove bags
• a new equivalency provision authorizing the constructor/employer to vary from measures and procedures set out in the regulation if specific conditions, such as notice of the varied measures to the JHSC, are met

The Regulation applies to:

• every project and its owner (*)
• every constructor, employer and worker engaged in or on the project
• the repair, alteration or maintenance of a building
• every employer and worker involved in the repair, alteration or maintenance of the building and the owner of the building
• the demolition of machinery, equipment, aircraft, ships, locomotives, railway cars and vehicles
• every employer and every worker engaged in the demolition. This includes contractors and subcontractors who perform work for or supply services to the employer

(*) Note: An owner is defined in the Act and includes a trustee, receiver, mortgagee in possession, tenant, lessee or occupier of any lands or premises used or to be used as a workplace as well as a person who acts for or on behalf of an owner as an agent or delegate

The Regulations does NOT apply to:

• to the owner of a private home that is occupied by the owner or the owner’s family
• to the owner of a residential building that contains no more than four units, one of which is occupied by the registered owner or family of the registered owner

However, the Regulations does APPLY to constructors, employers and workers engaged in private construction projects and repair or maintenance of such buildings

(**) Excerpts from “A Guide to the Regulation Respecting Asbestos on Construction Projects and in Buildings and Repair Operation” Publication from The Ministry of Labour – Healthy and Safety – www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/asbestos/asbst_1.html

Other substances that are commonly encountered and have similar regulations are lead, which can be found in piping and paints; Mercury, which can be found in thermometers, electrical switches, lighting ballasts.

Indoor Air Quality Ottawa can provide preliminary site inspections to establish the presence of designated substances; Air Quality Clearance Testing; Sampling; can provide recommendations to address the presence of designated substances during renovations and or demolition.  All Indoor Air Quality Ottawa programs are custom designed to meet the specific requirements of your project.  Indoor Air Quality Ottawa also has the capabilities and expertise to provide remediation.

Contact Indoor Air Quality Ottawa at 613-237-8381 to arrange a consultation.

It’s The Air You Breathe