Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (SOR/86-304)

PART XHazardous Substances

Interpretation

10.1 In this Part,

airborne asbestos fibres

airborne asbestos fibres means asbestos fibres that are longer than 5 μm (micrometres) with an aspect ratio equal to or greater than 3:1 and that are carried by the air; (fibres d’amiante aéroportées)

airborne chrysotile asbestos

airborne chrysotile asbestos[Repealed, SOR/2017-132, s. 1]

asbestos

asbestos means actinolite, amosite, anthophyllite, chrysotile, crocidolite and tremolite in their fibrous form; (amiante)

asbestos-containing material

asbestos-containing material means

• (a) any article that is manufactured and contains 1% or more asbestos by weight at the time of manufacture or that contains a concentration of 1% or more asbestos as determined in accordance with Method 9002 set out in the document entitled NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods, published by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, as amended from time to time, or in accordance with a scientifically proven method used to collect and analyze a representative sample of the material; and

• (b) any material that contains a concentration of 1% or more asbestos as determined in accordance with Method 9002 set out in the document entitled NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods, published by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, as amended from time to time, or in accordance with a scientifically proven method used to collect and analyze a representative sample of the material; (matériau contenant de l’amiante)

clearance air sampling

clearance air sampling means the action of taking samples to determine if the concentration of airborne asbestos fibres inside an enclosure is below the limit referred to in section 10.19 to permit the dismantling of a containment system; (échantillonnage de l’air après décontamination)

containment system

containment system means an isolation system that is designed to effectively contain asbestos fibre within a designated work area where asbestos-containing material is handled, removed, encapsulated or enclosed; (système de confinement)

encapsulation

encapsulation means the treatment of an asbestos-containing material with a sealant that penetrates the material and binds the asbestos fibres together, and the treatment of the surface of the asbestos-containing material with a sealant that creates a membrane on the surface, to prevent the release of asbestos fibres into the air; (encapsulation)

enclosure

enclosure means a physical barrier such as drywall, plywood or metal sheeting that, as part of the containment system, isolates asbestos-containing material from adjacent areas in a building to prevent the release of airborne asbestos fibres into those areas; (encloisonnement)

friable

friable means, in respect of asbestos-containing material, that the material, when dry, can be easily crumbled or powdered by hand pressure; (friable)

glove bag

glove bag means a polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride bag that is affixed around an asbestos-containing source and that permits asbestos-containing material to be removed while minimizing the release of airborne asbestos fibres into the work place; (sac à gants)

hazard information

hazard information means, in respect of a hazardous substance, information on the proper and safe storage, handling, use and disposal of the hazardous substance, including information relating to the health and physical hazards that it presents; (renseignements sur les risques)

HEPA filter

HEPA filter means a high-efficiency particulate air filter that has been tested to ensure efficiency equal to or exceeding 99.97% for removal of airborne particles having a mean aerodynamic diameter of 0.3 µm (micrometres) from the air; (filtre HEPA)

high-risk activity

high-risk activity means an activity that involves the handling or disturbance of friable asbestos-containing material or is carried out in proximity to friable asbestos-containing material, that requires a high level of control to prevent exposure to excessive concentrations of airborne asbestos fibres and that includes

• (a) the removal or disturbance of more than 1 m² of friable asbestos-containing material in a work place, even if the activity is divided into smaller jobs,

• (b) the spray application of a sealant to a friable asbestos-containing material,

• (c) the cleaning or removal of air-handling equipment, other than filters, in a building that has sprayed-on fireproofing or sprayed-on thermal insulation that is asbestos-containing material,

• (d) the repair, alteration or demolition of all or part of a kiln, metallurgical furnace or similar structure that contains asbestos-containing material,

• (e) the breaking, cutting, drilling, abrading, grinding, sanding or vibrating of non-friable asbestos-containing material, if the activity is carried out by means of power tools that are not attached to dust-collecting devices equipped with HEPA filters, and

• (f) the repair, alteration or demolition of all or part of a building in which asbestos is or was used in the manufacture of products, unless the asbestos was cleaned up and removed; (activité à risque élevé)

low-risk activity

low-risk activity means an activity that involves the handling of asbestos-containing material or is carried out in proximity to non-friable asbestos-containing material and that includes

• (a) the installation or removal of ceiling tiles that are made of non-friable asbestos-containing material and cover an area of less than 7.5 m²,

• (b) the installation or removal of other non-friable asbestos-containing material, if the material is not being broken, cut, drilled, abraded, ground, sanded or vibrated and dust is not being generated,

• (c) the breaking, cutting, drilling, abrading, grinding, sanding or vibrating of non-friable asbestos-containing material, if the material is wetted to control the spread of dust or fibres and the activity is carried out only by means of non-powered hand-held tools, and

• (d) the removal of less than 1 m² of drywall in which joint cement containing asbestos has been used; (activité à faible risque)

moderate-risk activity

moderate-risk activity means an activity that involves the handling of asbestos-containing material or is carried out in proximity to friable asbestos-containing material, that is not otherwise classified as a low-risk activity or high-risk activity and that includes

• (a) the removal of all or part of a false ceiling to gain access to a work area, if asbestos-containing material is likely to be found on the surface of the false ceiling,

• (b) the removal or disturbance of 1 m² or less of friable asbestos-containing material during repair, alteration, maintenance or demolition work in a work place,

• (c) the enclosure of friable asbestos-containing material,

• (d) the application of tape, sealant or other covering to pipe or boiler insulation that is asbestos-containing material,

• (e) the removal of ceiling tiles that are asbestos-containing material, if the tiles cover an area of greater than 2 m² and are removed without being broken, cut, drilled, abraded, ground, sanded or vibrated,

• (f) the breaking, cutting, drilling, abrading, grinding, sanding or vibrating of non-friable asbestos-containing material, if the material is not wetted to control the spread of dust or fibres and the activity is carried out only by means of non-powered hand-held tools,

• (g) the removal of 1 m² or more of drywall in which joint cement that is asbestos-containing material has been used,

• (h) the breaking, cutting, drilling, abrading, grinding, sanding or vibrating of non-friable asbestos-containing material, if the activity is carried out by means of power tools that are attached to dust-collecting devices equipped with HEPA filters,

• (i) the removal of insulation that is asbestos-containing material from a pipe, duct or similar structure using a glove bag, and

• (j) the cleaning or removal of filters used in air-handling equipment in a building that has sprayed-on fireproofing that is asbestos-containing material; (activité à risque modéré)

product identifier

product identifier has the same meaning as in subsection 1(1) of the Hazardous Products Regulations; (identificateur de produit)

readily available

readily available means, in respect of a document, present and easily accessible at the work place at all times; (facilement accessible)

supplier

supplier has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Hazardous Products Act; (fournisseur)

work activity

work activity means any low-risk activity, moderate-risk activity or high-risk activity or any activity that is ancillary to that activity, and the supervision of that activity and that ancillary activity. (activité de travail)

Application

10.2 This Part does not apply to the handling or transportation of dangerous goods to which the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992 and regulations made thereunder apply.

DIVISION IGeneral

Records of Hazardous Substances

10.3 Every employer shall keep a record of all hazardous substances that are used, produced, handled or stored for use in the work place and may either keep such a record in the work place or keep a centralized record in respect of several work places in one work place.

Hazard Investigation

• 10.4 (1) If the health or safety of an employee is likely to be endangered by exposure to a hazardous substance in a work place, the employer shall, without delay,

  • (a) appoint a qualified person to carry out an investigation in that regard; and

  • (b) for the purposes of providing for the participation of the work place committee or the health and safety representative in the investigation, notify either of the proposed investigation and of the name of the qualified person appointed to carry out that investigation.

• (2) In an investigation referred to in subsection (1), the following criteria shall be taken into consideration:

  • (a) the chemical, biological and physical properties of the hazardous substance;

  • (b) the routes of exposure to the hazardous substance;

  • (c) the acute and chronic effects on health of exposure to the hazardous substance;

  • (d) the quantity of the hazardous substance to be handled;

  • (e) the manner in which the hazardous substance is stored, used, handled and disposed of;

  • (f) the control methods used to eliminate or reduce exposure of employees to the hazardous substance;

  • (g) the concentration or level of the hazardous substance to which an employee is likely to be exposed;

  • (h) whether the concentration of an airborne chemical agent or the level of ionizing or non-ionizing radiation is likely to exceed 50 per cent of the values referred to in subsection 10.19(1) or the levels referred to in subsections 10.26(3) and (4); and

  • (i) whether the level referred to in paragraph (g) is likely to exceed or be less than that prescribed in Part VI.

10.5 On completion of an investigation referred to in subsection 10.4(1) and after consultation with the work place committee or the health and safety representative,

• (a) the qualified person shall set out in a written report signed by the qualified person

  • (i) the qualified person’s observations respecting the criteria considered in accordance with subsection 10.4(2), and

  • (ii) the qualified person’s recommendations respecting the manner of compliance with sections 10.7 to 10.26, including recommendations respecting sampling and testing methods; and

• (b) the employer shall establish and keep up-to-date written procedure for the controlling of the concentration or level of the hazardous substance in the work place and make it readily available for examination by employees in any form, as determined in consultation with the policy committee or, if there is no policy committee, the work place committee or the health and safety representative.

10.6 A report referred to in section 10.5 shall be kept by the employer for a period of thirty years after the date on which the qualified person signed the report.