Asbestos abatement in Alberta is a regulated process with three possible outcomes: removal, encapsulation, or enclosure. Before work begins, the employer must assess the hazard, notify Alberta Occupational Health and Safety at least 72 hours in advance, and follow procedures matched to the risk level of the job.
What does asbestos abatement actually mean?
Abatement is the process of identifying, controlling, and removing hazardous materials to reduce the risk of exposure. It is not always removal. According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, abatement activities range across three approaches:
- Complete removal takes the material off the property entirely
- Encapsulation seals the material so it cannot release fibres
- Enclosure builds a physical barrier around the material
Alberta’s Asbestos Abatement Manual confirms all three are legitimate. Where a building has a potential for the release of asbestos fibres, the material must be removed, enclosed, or encapsulated. Which one applies depends on the condition of the material, where it sits, and what work is planned around it.
There is one situation where the choice disappears. In buildings or parts of buildings being demolished, materials with the potential to release asbestos fibres must be removed before demolition. Encapsulation is not an option there.
When is asbestos abatement legally required?
Alberta treats a potential fibre release in an existing building as an unsafe condition. That is the trigger. It is not based on how much asbestos is in the material, but on whether disturbing it could put fibres in the air.
This catches more materials than most building owners expect. The manual is explicit that materials containing low levels, meaning less than one per cent asbestos by weight, and materials with asbestos bound into the product such as asbestos cement and vinyl flooring, still have the potential to release fibres when disturbed. They must be removed before demolition.
Renovations carry the same duty. If an area within a building is being altered or renovated, the employer must ensure materials with the potential for releasing fibres in that area are removed, enclosed, or encapsulated.
Drywall joint compound and stipple deserve particular attention. These were often not mixed uniformly when applied, so asbestos content can vary within the same building. When large quantities are involved, sampling has to account for that inconsistency rather than assuming one test represents everything.
What are the steps in an asbestos abatement project?
The sequence varies with the material and the site, but a typical project follows five stages.
Site assessment and sampling. The area is assessed and tested first. This generally requires an occupational hygienist, and it establishes how much hazardous material is present and where. Building owners are often required to complete this assessment before bringing in an abatement contractor.
Scope of work. This defines the sequence in which materials will be removed and the method used for each. It draws on the hygienist’s findings.
Safety measures. A risk assessment specific to that scope, plus a safe work plan covering controls, training, and personal protective equipment.
Disposal. Removed material must be disposed of according to municipal, provincial, and federal rules.
Site decontamination. This clears residual material and makes the structure safe for re-entry. It can involve air or surface sampling, since contaminants can remain airborne or settled above legal limits after the visible work is finished.
Do you have to notify the government before starting?
Yes. Notification must be given to Alberta OHS at least 72 hours before beginning any activity that may release asbestos fibres. The 72-hour clock starts when the work site party receives acknowledgement of the notice, not when it is submitted.
The notification must include the work site location, the start and completion dates, and a description of the work. It is filed online and acknowledged by email.
Notification applies to all three risk categories: high, moderate, and low. Setup work counts. Removing a false ceiling that may have asbestos debris sitting on it requires notification before the ceiling comes down.
A few situations are exempt:
- Inspecting asbestos-containing materials as part of a management plan or assessment
- Sampling materials as part of an assessment, provided it is done by competent personnel in a way that minimizes disturbance
- Removing and replacing one small manufactured product under 30 centimetres in diameter, such as a gasket or valve packing
- Short-term work in areas with non-friable material that does not disturb it
- Transporting material in sealed containers, unless the transport is part of an abatement project
Exempt does not mean unregulated. In each of these cases the employer still has to prevent fibre release, use competent workers, and follow Part 4 of the OHS Code.
Ongoing routine maintenance involving low or moderate-risk activities can qualify for extended project notification status, valid for up to a year. Extended notifications are only considered for low or moderate-risk work.
One point that catches contractors: a construction schedule delay caused by discovering asbestos is not accepted as grounds to shorten the notification period. An urgent situation like asbestos cladding on a ruptured water pipe is.
What is a restricted area and why does it change the job?
A restricted area is any part of a work site where there is a reasonable chance the airborne asbestos concentration exceeds or may exceed the occupational exposure limit. In Alberta that limit is 0.1 fibres per cubic centimetre averaged over eight hours, and it has applied to all forms of asbestos since 2004.
For context, background asbestos levels in dwellings and urban air are usually below 0.001 fibres per cubic centimetre. The occupational limit sits about a hundred times above ordinary indoor air.
Once an area meets the restricted definition, the employer picks up additional duties: allow only authorized people in, post hazard signage until the area is cleared, supply and enforce protective clothing and respirators, ensure workers decontaminate before leaving, and either discard contaminated clothing as asbestos waste or keep it in labelled sealed containers until laundering. The employer pays for the required protective equipment.
Fibre counting follows NIOSH method 7400, which draws a known volume of air through a filter cassette and reports the result in fibres per cubic centimetre.
Who is allowed to do asbestos abatement work?
It depends on the risk level.
Workers on high-risk projects, meaning work in restricted areas, must complete a two-day asbestos abatement course and hold a valid Asbestos Worker Card. The original card has to be available at the work site, and OHS officers can ask to see it along with identification. The card remains the property of the province and can be revoked.
Workers on low and moderate-risk projects, where the site is not a restricted area, do not need the card or the two-day course. They still require training appropriate to their level of involvement under the OHS Regulation.
There is also a threshold worth knowing for anyone doing this work regularly. An exposed worker is defined as someone who may reasonably be expected to work in a restricted area for at least 30 work days in a 12-month period, which brings health assessment requirements into play.
What controls are used during abatement?
Controls depend on the hazard assessment, but the common set includes:
- Negative air pressure enclosures to contain airborne contaminants
- Isolation barriers and containment structures
- HEPA-filtered exhaust ventilation
- Wet methods for dust suppression
- Air monitoring
- Showering before exiting containment, where required
- Restricted access, caution signage, and tape
Containment is the core of it. A qualified person assesses the scope, designs the containment space, determines how many air filtration devices are needed, and decides whether decontamination showers are required.
The number of air filtration units is calculated from the volume of the treated area. NIOSH offers five air changes per hour as a guideline, with the caveat that five air changes will not guarantee totally safe air in any space but does reduce exposure risk. The calculation is cubic feet multiplied by air exchanges per hour, divided by 60, giving the cubic feet per minute of air movement required.
Filtration units are checked with dispersed oil particulate testing, which detects leaks and defects in the filter medium, frame, seal, and the filter bank framework.
How much asbestos exposure still happens in Canada?
CAREX Canada, based at the University of British Columbia, estimates approximately 235,000 Canadians are exposed to asbestos at work. Construction-related industries account for about 67 per cent of them.
The occupations with the most exposed workers are carpenters at 36,000, construction trades helpers and labourers at 36,000, electricians at 21,000, and janitors, caretakers and building superintendents at 19,000.
That number went up, not down. Exposed workers increased by roughly 83,000 between 2006 and 2016, a 55 per cent rise, driven largely by identifying additional occupations where exposure occurs, including in schools, hospitals, and public administration.
The disease burden reflects exposures from decades ago because of the latency period. Past exposures between 1961 and 2001 lead to approximately 1,900 lung cancers and 430 mesotheliomas each year in Canada, which is 8 per cent of all lung cancers and 81 per cent of all mesotheliomas diagnosed annually.
What causes exposure today is different from what caused it then. Mining and manufacturing have been phased out. The vast majority of current exposure comes from contact with older asbestos-containing products and from renovation work on buildings put up more than 35 years ago. CAREX notes that the abatement and remediation industry did not exist as a separate profession until the early 1980s.
What is prohibited outright?
Alberta bans several uses of asbestos in new and existing buildings:
- Crocidolite, also called blue asbestos
- Asbestos-containing materials in a supply or return air plenum where fibres could enter the system
- Installing any product with the potential to release fibres, with asbestos cement pipe and board as exceptions provided they are not in a plenum
- Installing asbestos by spray application
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does asbestos abatement notification take in Alberta? Notification must be submitted at least 72 hours before work begins. The 72-hour period starts once you receive email acknowledgement that the notice was received, not when you submit it.
Does a small asbestos job still need notification? Usually yes. Notification is required for low, moderate, and high-risk projects. The exemptions are narrow: inspection, sampling by competent personnel, replacing a single manufactured product under 30 centimetres such as a gasket, short-term work that does not disturb non-friable material, and transport in sealed containers outside an abatement project.
What is the asbestos exposure limit in Alberta? 0.1 fibres per cubic centimetre over an eight-hour period, applied to all forms of asbestos since 2004. An area where that limit may be exceeded is classified as a restricted area with additional employer duties.
Can asbestos be left in place instead of removed? Sometimes. Encapsulation and enclosure are both permitted where a building has a potential for fibre release. The exception is demolition, where materials that could release fibres must be removed first, including materials under one per cent asbestos by weight.
Does vinyl flooring count as asbestos-containing material? It can. Vinyl flooring binds asbestos into the product, but the manual is clear that bound materials still have the potential to release fibres when disturbed and must be removed before demolition.
What is a friable material? Material that can be crumbled by hand when dry. The more friable a material is, the greater the potential hazard, because it releases fibres more readily. A very friable material crumbles easily with hand pressure; a less friable one cannot be crushed by hand.
Do abatement workers need certification in Alberta? Workers on high-risk projects in restricted areas need a two-day asbestos abatement course and a valid Asbestos Worker Card, carried on site. Low and moderate-risk work does not require the card, but does require training appropriate to the work.
Who does the testing before abatement starts? Testing generally requires an occupational hygienist. It is the first step of the process and establishes the extent of material present. Building owners are often required to complete a hazardous material assessment before engaging an abatement team.
Sources
- Government of Alberta, Alberta Asbestos Abatement Manual, August 2019 (ASB001)
- Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, Abatement of Hazardous Materials
- CAREX Canada, University of British Columbia, Asbestos Occupational Exposures
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