Is dry removal of asbestos ever allowed in Alberta?

Dry removal of friable asbestos-containing material is classified as high-risk work under the Alberta Asbestos Abatement Manual, The Manual does not describe it as banned; it places it in the high-risk class, with the full high-risk controls that come with that.

What the Manual and the OHS Code actually say

The Manual describes low-risk work as handling non-friable products without cutting, breaking, sanding or vibrating them, and moderate-risk work as using non-powered or HEPA-equipped powered tools on certain materials. Dry removal of friable material lands in the high-risk category, and where airborne asbestos may exceed the exposure limit the Alberta OHS Code makes the work area a restricted area: authorized persons only, posted signs, no eating or drinking, protective clothing supplied, and workers decontaminating before they leave. Every worker who enters that restricted area must carry an original, valid Alberta asbestos worker card, issued after at least 14 net instructional hours, an 80 per cent pass on a written exam and a pass on a practical. Cards expire three years from issue. The employer must also file the 72-hour notification through Alberta's asbestos portal before any work begins that may release fibres, and nobody starts until that notification is on file.

For high-risk enclosures, the Manual describes keeping the area under negative pressure throughout the job and not dismantling the enclosure until air tests confirm fibre levels are low enough. That is the Manual's clearance test for high-risk work; the 0.01 fibres per cubic centimetre final figure is its rule for moderate-risk work.

A few practical points worth knowing:

• There is no contractor or company licence for asbestos abatement in Alberta. The credentials that exist in law are the worker card and the employer's notification. If a contractor says they are "licensed," ask to see the worker cards instead.
• The OHS Code sets no minimum quantity for the 72-hour notification. One square foot of friable material triggers it the same as a whole building.
• The City of Calgary's Shepard rule is that asbestos waste is wetted before bagging, double-bagged in 6-mil polyethylene and sealed, and the OHS Code requires sealed, labelled containers.
• The Alberta OHS Code lists asbestos as a class A1 carcinogen and requires asbestos waste containers to be labelled accordingly. Health Canada advises against disturbing asbestos-containing material and recommends hiring a qualified asbestos removal specialist.

If you are getting quotes for high-risk removal, ask each contractor whether clearance air testing will be done by a consultant independent of their own crew, and which lab will count the samples, because clearance sampling by the crew that did the removal is not independent. Also confirm the disposal plan: asbestos from Calgary jobs goes to Shepard landfill only, by appointment, with a permit, and loads with packaging defects can be turned away or hit with a $275 hard-to-handle surcharge.

The one request worth making of every contractor: show containment, clearance testing and landfill disposal as separate line items, so two quotes can be compared honestly.