In November 2005, Regulation 278/05 to the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act came into effect. This Regulation overhauled the previous regulation and clarified the duties of building owners with respect to asbestos. Certain aspects of the Regulation were subject to a two-year transitional period and were thereby not scheduled to come into force until November 1, 2007. Building owners and occupiers in Ontario should be aware of these new provisions which alter the obligations with respect to the ongoing management of asbestos-containing materials in buildings.
The health dangers associated with asbestos occur when asbestos-containing materials (which the Regulation defines as material that contains 0.5% or more asbestos by dry weight) release fibres into the air which can be inhaled. As a result, asbestos-containing materials are broken down into the following two categories, according to the ease with which dangerous fibres may become airborne:
Asbestos Abatement preformed by the Property Owner The New River ::
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTMLand its transportation to the New River Solid Waste Management Area for Identifying suspected non-friable asbestos materials as a homeowner is not easy
http://www.newriverresourceauthority.org/Asbestos%20Abatement%20preformed%20by%20the%20homeowner.pdfHOME |
NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS::
RACM also includes Category I or Category II non-friable asbestos material that has EPC Air Management Division Attn: Asbestos Program Coordinator
http://www.epchc.org/ASB_Not_Reg.htmHOME |
Friable – asbestos-containing material which is crumbled, pulverized or powdered or which can be crumbled, pulverized or powdered by hand pressure, and
Non-friable – asbestos-containing material which cannot be crumbled, pulverized or powdered by hand pressure.
The Regulation currently requires building owners to prepare and maintain records with respect to materials in buildings which may be asbestos-containing, but only to the extent that such materials are friable. The section of the Regulation which comes into force on November 1, 2007, however, extends this obligation to all asbestos-containing materials, whether friable or non-friable. This broadened obligation addresses the fact that, although non-friable asbestos-containing materials are not dangerous while left intact and undisturbed, they can release airborne fibres and therefore become hazardous during maintenance, repair, renovation, demolition and installation activities.
Effective November 1, 2007, if a building owner knows or ought reasonably to know that asbestos-containing materials (whether friable or non-friable) have been used in a building for any purpose, the owner is required to maintain a record containing all of the information specified in the Regulation. This record must also be maintained if the building owner treats any material in the building as if it were asbestos-containing, discovers material that may be asbestos-containing, or would have discovered material that was asbestos-containing if it had conducted an examination as required by other provisions of the Regulation.
In any of these situations, the building owner must prepare and keep on the premises a record which must include (among other things): (i) the location of the asbestos-containing material, and (ii) for each location, whether the material is friable or non-friable. The building owner must give any person who is an occupier of the building (for example, commercial tenants) written notice of information in the record that relates to the area of the building that the person occupies. Notice of the contents of the record must also be given to any employees or contractors who may be working in close proximity to the asbestos-containing material and may disturb it. The Regulation further mandates the appropriate training and instruction of any worker who works in the building and who may do work in close proximity to the asbestos-containing material and may disturb it.
Building owners are required to inspect the material mentioned in the record at reasonable intervals in order to determine its condition, and are mandated to update the record whenever they become aware of relevant, new information and, in any case, at least once in each 12-month period.
As a result, building owners should consider whether their current asbestos management records need to be revised prior to November 1, 2007 in order to capture the new requirements with respect to non-friable asbestos-containing materials.
Building occupiers such as tenants should consult with building owners before conducting any renovations to their premises to confirm whether the proposed work may involve the disturbance of non-friable asbestos-containing materials. Building occupiers should also be aware that, once they are put on notice by the building owner of the presence of asbestos-containing materials in their premises, the occupier is then responsible for advising its workers of the presence of such materials and conducting appropriate training.
Building owners and occupiers would be well-advised to seek professional advice prior to November 1, 2007 to confirm their compliance with these new broadened requirements.
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New Requirements for the Management of Non-friable Asbestos