Changes to Asbestos Regulations start
November 1, 2005
Ontario has a new
asbestos regulation, Regulation 278, which replaces the
20-year-old Regulation 838, “Asbestos on Construction Projects
and in Buildings and Repair Operations.” Regulation 278
(formerly Reg. 838), applies to most buildings in Ontario where
asbestos is found and will come into force November 1, 2005. The
regulation has new provisions for appropriate removal or
encapsulation (sealing) of asbestos, new training requirements
for workers exposed to asbestos, and sets stricter requirements
for employers to monitor asbestos through an asbestos management
program.
The new regulation
introduces changes that will identify more asbestos in the
workplace and reduce worker exposures. For example, starting in
November 2005, employers will now have to consider both friable
and non-friable asbestos within their workplaces. Previously,
employers had to take action only when asbestos was friable.
Friable is a term used to describe asbestos that is crumbling or
could be crumbled. With the new regulation, all asbestos must be
identified and managed within the workplace.
One important change
in the regulation that may increase awareness of asbestos in
workplaces is a provision that re-inspection of existing
asbestos must occur at frequent intervals and records must be
updated at least once every twelve-month period. These changes
will be phased in; until November 1, 2007, only workplaces with
friable asbestos will be expected to comply with this section.
After November 1, 2007, workplaces with any type of asbestos
will be subject to the new rules. Another positive change is
that after November 1, 2005, every employer within a building
that contains asbestos falls under the designated substance
regulations and therefore must have a Joint Health and Safety
Committee (JHSC) no matter how many workers there are (S. 2(c)).
The old asbestos regulation required JHSCs in workplaces with
fewer than 20 workers only in buildings where “friable material
that may contain asbestos has been used as fireproofing or as
insulation.” The new Section 2(c) states that the regulation
applies to buildings “in which material that may be
asbestos-containing material has been used, and the owners of
the building.” This appears to mean that even in buildings where
the only asbestos is contained in floor tiles, for example, a
JHSC will be required. All other parts of the Asbestos
regulation will apply in such cases.
Other changes to the
regulation include training for more workers, removal of both
friable and non-friable asbestos before demolition, increases in
numbers and type of sampling to identify asbestos, and more
stringent remediation methods for asbestos.
Although OPSEU
supports these changes, we still have a distance to go to fully
protect workers. Asbestos is a substance that kills. The fire
retardant material is often found in old buildings, in ceiling
and floor tiles, mixed with cement, and around pipes. The fibres
are so small that when people inhale them, fibres lodge in the
lungs and may, after a long latency period (15-30 years), cause
fatal diseases such as mesothelioma or other lung cancers. There
have even been cases where family members of workers exposed to
asbestos have developed asbestos-related disease from inhaling
deadly asbestos fibres off the worker’s clothing without ever
having been exposed to the substance in the workplace.
In its 1981
“Submission to the Royal Commission on matters of Health and
Safety arising from the use of Asbestos in Ontario” commenting
on the need for asbestos regulations, the Ontario Federation of
Labour (OFL) called for substitutes for asbestos be found and
used, leading to a phase out and full ban of asbestos products
as opposed to simply “managing” asbestos.
Labour has been
saying this ever since on behalf of workers in this province.
The OFL, and other unions, including OPSEU, said it again in
their 2004 submissions to the Ministry of Labour on this
project. “Managing” asbestos still means it is present and
remains a hazard in the workplace. Also, it is our experience
that asbestos management plans are often not thoroughly
understood or simply not implemented by employers. Additionally,
buildings are sold, employers change, JHSCs change and asbestos
management plans get lost over time. As a result, many workers
work for years in buildings containing asbestos and don’t even
know it. Nothing short of a full ban and removal of all asbestos
is safe enough.
For more detailed
information on the changes to the asbestos regulations, visit
http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/reg_asbestos.html .
To read OPSEU’s December 2004 submission to the MOL on this
project, click here.
