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Frequently Asked Questions

 Please check out our FAQs to learn more about 

 

Please feel free to connect with our professionals for more details or to book an assessment.

​Question: Does my home have asbestos?

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Answer:  Primarily, asbestos was used in residential building applications between the 1950s to the late 1980s. There has been conflicting information within the asbestos assessment and abatement industry that some buildings have had asbestos in buildings post-1990. WP Consulting can not comment on other individual's assessment results. However, in our experience of conducting assessments of buildings post-1990, we have not found asbestos-containing building materials.

 

There is, however, a possibility of commercial or industrial setting buildings possibly having an asbestos-containing product present post-1990. This is based on the importation of asbestos products not being banned in Canada till 2018.

Question: Who is responsible for the events of asbestos?

 

Answer:  Provided - Factsheet: Asbestos: revelations, public safety and tenancy in British Columbia 

https://news.gov.bc.ca/factsheets/factsheet-asbestos-renovations-public-safety-and-tenancy-in-british-columbia 

 

Asbestos in demolition and renovation – responsibilities

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  • Special techniques are required to remove asbestos safely.

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  • If you suspect asbestos is present, stop work immediately and have a qualified asbestos professional complete an asbestos survey.

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  • WorkSafeBC Officers receive and review demolition permits issued by some municipalities allowing them to know in advance where residential demolitions will be taking place. Those municipalities requiring the accompanying asbestos survey (Coquitlam, Vancouver, Saanich, Nanaimo, and Port Coquitlam) also make that survey available to officers. This list may be updated at any time.

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Work Site Requirements

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  • WorkSafeBC: The Workers Compensation Act, Occupational Health and Safety Regulation outlines the requirements and related guidelines regarding the identification, exposure, designated work areas and containments, and handling and disposal of asbestos at work sites.

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  • WorkSafeBC’s mandate includes enforcing rules and health and safety regulations through inspections related to asbestos remediation. In addition, WorkSafeBC engages in education and consultation through online materials and through their Prevention Officers.

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Local Government’s role

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  • It is the local government, not the province, which has the responsibility and the authority to establish and enforce standards of maintenance bylaws for existing buildings. That authority is established through the Community Charter. Tenants may contact their local government and have municipal inspectors investigate the conditions at the property to determine if they are in violation of health and safety requirements.


Public Safety

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  • Ministry of Health: the Public Health Act and regulations require reporting, to medical health officers, of pollution events that create a health hazard, and authorize public health officials to investigate and require actions to protect the public.

 

Disposal

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  • Ministry of Environment: the ministry regulates “waste asbestos” as hazardous waste if the waste contains friable (easily crumbled or powdered by hand) asbestos fibres or asbestos dust in a certain concentration (greater than 1 % at time of manufacture or as determined in the Hazardous Waste Regulation). It also governs how asbestos is to be transported and disposed of.

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  • If asbestos is found, the law requires employers to hire a qualified abatement contractor to remove it. A qualified person must also certify that the worksite air is safe, following the completion of the asbestos removal work.

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Residential Tenancy

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  • The Residential Tenancy Act requires landlords to maintain their rental properties in a state that is suitable for occupancy - they must meet housing, safety and building standards required by law.

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  • When a tenant has a problem with a rental unit, the tenant should inform the landlord of the problem in writing.

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  • If the landlord does not respond to the request in a reasonable amount of time, the tenant may apply to the Residential Tenancy Branch for dispute resolution, seeking compensation for any additional costs the tenant incurs or a rent reduction.

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  • Under the Occupier's Liability Act, a landlord has a duty of care to ensure that a person on the rental property will be reasonably safe.

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  • If a landlord is aware of a hazard on the rental property but fails to inform the tenant, the courts may find that the landlord has been negligent or has breached a duty to warn of the hazard.

 

 

Question: ​Is Mold (Mould) Harmful

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Answer:  As we had mentioned in our Indoor Air Quality portion, mould is in the air we breathe. It can migrate inside our homes and buildings in the air when we open doors and windows. Each species has its own unique characteristics associated with the environments they inhabit. Some species react more (thrive, induced growth activity) in habitats that are high in relative humidity and moist-ridden materials. Other species can react more to decaying organisms or food products.

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Some moulds have a higher toxicity than others from the mycotoxins they produce. Each person will react differently to moulds. Some may become very ill, (in most of these cases, are associated with individuals having an underlying health condition, an undeveloped respiratory system such as an infant, or compromised immunity), and others may come down with less serious allergenic symptoms.  

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When mould species or multiple species have colonized to the point of visually seeing active growth (fuzzy or powdery-like), health issues are at the forefront of occupant's concerns. These colonized conditions are usually associated with flooding or an environmental shift within a building that provides a favourable habitat for the moulds to flourish. 

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