Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations

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airborne chrysotile asbestos[Repealed, SOR/2017-132, s. 1]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