Asbestos History

Asbestos History / Regulatory Requirements

In 1975, it was discovered after much research that friable asbestos fibres when inhaled caused asbestosis or mesothelioma in workers after laying dormant in the lungs for up to 25- 30 years. The fibres imbed themselves into the lining of the lung, causing scar tissue to form and eventually causing lung cancer.

It was because of this finding that the regulatory agencies in Canada banned the use of asbestos and required employers to implement an asbestos regulations including:

• Exposure Control Plan (WCB, OH&S Regulation Part 6.3)
• Inventory (WCB, OH&S Regulation Part 6.4)
• Identification (WCB, OH&S Regulation 6.5)

In maintaining our due diligence, the University conducted an Asbestos Inventory Survey and had all asbestos containing material (ACM) identified, assessed, classified and developed an asbestos removal plan based on priority for the entire SFU Campus. The WorksafeBC (WCB) requires all employers to have a plan such as this in place, as they require employers to have a long term plan to eventually remove all ACM.
The Facilities Management Group designates large sums of money each year to maintain compliance with this plan and there have been numerous abatement projects over the years that have taken place.
With respect to encapsulation:
This only masks the problem and is not the proactive approach in complying with the abatement plan that is in place. A pipe developing a leak within the encapsulated section of the piping will cause the problem to resurface and would require the specialized contractor to return to abate the one area that was not addressed originally, at a considerable expense.
It must be noted that Asbestos Abatement Contractors have very specialized training in ensuring that:

• Their workers are not exposed
• Any affected parties working within the space are not exposed
• All ACM is disposed of as required by the WCB, in Part 6.28 of the OH&S Regulation

All Asbestos Contractors are required to submit an NOPA (Notice of Project Involving Asbestos) to the WorksafeBC for approval prior to commencing work on any job. In this NOPA, it details the work procedures that will be implemented to ensure everyone's safety.
Also the contractor is required to conduct clearance sampling both inside and outside the high risk work area to verify their control measures are effective (WCB, OH&S Regulation Part 6.21 (1-4))
The EHS Office, as well as Facilities Management are required to keep records of both the NOPA's received as well as the sampling records for at least 10 year as specified in WCB, OH&S Regulation Part 6.32 (1-2). Records of corrective actions to control fibre release, training and instruction of workers, written work procedures and written notification of the Board must be maintained for 3 years.

The original topic : online asbestos world