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Asbestos hazards
Supporting documents
- News release
- Fact sheets
- Asbestos poster (PDF 214kb)
- Brochure: Renovating or building your home (PDF 343kb)
To avoid disturbing material containing asbestos know where it is before you begin to renovate.
What is asbestos?
Asbestos is a strong, fire-resistant mineral fibre. In the past, asbestos was used in insulation for heat or fire protection and to reduce noise. It was also added to materials such as cement and/or plaster to increase structural strength.
What are the hazards of asbestos?
Asbestosis: a chronic lung disease resulting from prolonged exposure to asbestos dust. Asbestos fibres gradually cause the lung to become scarred and stiff, making breathing difficult.
Lung Cancer: may be caused by asbestos fibres in the lung. No one knows exactly how asbestos causes lung cancer; however, researchers have shown that the combination of smoking tobacco and inhaling asbestos fibres greatly increases the risk of lung cancer.
Mesothelioma: is a rare but malignant form of cancer affecting the lining of the chest or the abdominal cavity. Mesothelioma is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos.
Asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma are the most common diseases linked to exposure to breathing in asbestos fibres without adequate protection. The risk of developing one of these diseases increases with the amount of air-borne asbestos inhaled and the amount of time the individual is exposed. Smokers are at an increased risk of developing asbestos-related diseases.
How widespread is the use of asbestos in homes?
Over 3,000 products containing asbestos were used in homes and buildings built mainly before the early 1980s. Some products, such as asbestos-containing vermiculite insulation were used in homes until the late 1980s. When in good condition, and not friable left undisturbed, these products present little risk to building occupants or renovators.
Accidental and inadvertent exposures to asbestos occur during renovations and demolitions when asbestos-containing products are disturbed through drilling, sanding, sawing and other mechanical activities.
What kinds of products in older homes may contain asbestos?
Products containing asbestos that may be found in older homes and other buildings include: roof felt and shingles, flooring tiles and linoleum, flooring adhesive, gaskets, pipe insulation, sound proofing, decorative material sprayed on walls and ceilings, acoustical tiles, patching and joint compounds for walls and ceilings and some vermiculite insulations.
What are the occupational health risks of asbestos?
In 2003, 53 of the 170 work-related deaths compensated by the WCB were a result of exposure to asbestos decades ago — 27 out of the 53 fatalities were workers employed in construction-related activities.
Unlike today, safe work practices for handling asbestos were not well established and many workers received little or no protection from the harmful fibres. More and more workers exposed to asbestos fibres more than 20 years ago are now being diagnosed with fatal lung diseases.
Due to the latency of diseases caused by asbestos, it is expected that asbestos-related deaths will not peak for the next few decades.
What must employers and workers do before beginning renovation or demolition work?
Employers and owners/builders are responsible for the health and safety of workers employed on the site. They must have a qualified person inspect the site to identify any asbestos that will be handled, disturbed or removed.
Trained, qualified workers using the proper protective equipment must do the removal.
Does a homeowner need to worry about asbestos if it is not being disturbed?
If asbestos-containing materials are encased in other materials, not friable and not disturbed, they pose little danger of releasing fibres into the air. Activities such as handling, sanding, drilling into or breaking up will cause fibres to be released.
What is the WCB doing to help prevent occupational diseases?
To prevent work-related fatal disease years into the future, we must identify and control exposure to hazardous substances today. The Workplace Hazardous Material Information System (WHMIS) regulations are a key component of hazard communication. This system includes labeling and material safety data sheet requirements for hazardous products used in the workplace. By referring to MSDS, employers and workers are made aware of hazardous ingredients and given direction on how to control exposures. WHMIS has been in place since 1988.
The WCB is working cooperatively with other agencies, including the BC Cancer agency, CMHC and others to communicate the hazards of asbestos, and to publish a brochure illustrating some of the locations in a house where asbestos may be found.
The WCB also publishes a standard practice manual of accepted safe work procedures for dealing with asbestos containing materials. An updated version of this booklet will be available in early 2005.
Information materials from the WCB are available at www.WorkSafebc.com or by calling the WCB Prevention Information Line at 604 276-3100 or toll-free at 1 888 621-SAFE.
What can homeowners do?
Prior to beginning home renovations, an owner needs to identify any potential asbestos hazard and to avoid inhaling asbestos fibres have it removed by someone appropriately trained and wearing protective clothing and a respirator appropriate for asbestos.
For more information homeowners can contact the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation at 1-800-668-2642 or Health Canada 604-666-2083.