Asbestos in Public Services and Procurement Canada-owned buildings
From: Public Services and Procurement Canada
For most of the 20th century, asbestos was commonly used in both residential and commercial building products. Learn how we are reducing asbestos in our buildings.
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Use of asbestos in buildings
In early 2016
We reviewed the use of asbestos in our facilities. We determined that other options were available for use in construction projects and major rehabilitation.
On April 1, 2016
We prohibited the use of asbestos in our new construction and major renovation projects.
On December 30, 2018
The Prohibition of Asbestos and Products Containing Asbestos Regulations came into force to protect the health of Canadians from the risks of exposure to asbestos.
These regulations prohibit:
- the import, sale and use of processed asbestos fibres
- the import, sale, use and manufacture of products, including consumer products, containing processed asbestos fibres at any level
- consumer products containing naturally occurring asbestos in greater than trace amounts
Health and safety in buildings
To respect the health and safety laws and regulations, we must manage and control asbestos-related risks in buildings that contain it.
We exercise due diligence to manage and control the risks associated with the product in our buildings that contain asbestos. This is done through the Asbestos Management Standard and the Asbestos Management Directive, which describe the requirements for:
- a building-specific Asbestos Management Plan
- the implementation of the appropriate corrective actions, which are:
- asbestos abatement
- asbestos encapsulation
We remove or encapsulate asbestos when there is a:
- risk to health and safety
- requirement for maintenance or renovation that results in the unavoidable disturbance of asbestos-containing materials
As per the regulations, we conduct annual inspections and reporting on identified asbestos-containing materials within the buildings.
The combination of these activities ensures that we manage and control the health and safety risks associated with asbestos.
Related links
- Health and safety in federal properties
- National inventory of asbestos in federal buildings
- Public Services and Procurement Canada Asbestos Management Directive
- Public Services and Procurement Canada Asbestos Management Standard
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