Asbestos Abatement & Removal

Once a lab confirms asbestos, the question becomes how it comes out. In Alberta the rules that apply to a contractor come from the Occupational Health and Safety Code. An employer must notify the Government of Alberta at least 72 hours before any work that may release asbestos fibres, every worker who enters an asbestos restricted area must hold a valid government-approved asbestos worker certificate, and the work area must be controlled so fibres do not spread.

The Alberta Asbestos Abatement Manual sorts jobs into low, moderate and high risk by how likely they are to put fibres in the air, and moderate and high-risk work is expected to finish with air results below 0.01 fibres per cubic centimetre.

What that looks like in a Calgary house: the area is sealed, workers wear protective clothing and respirators, material is wetted and removed by hand rather than sanded or ground, waste goes into sealed and labelled containers, and the space is cleaned and cleared before anyone else goes back in. There is no contractor licence for asbestos abatement in Alberta. The credentials to ask about are the worker cards, the OHS notification, WCB-Alberta coverage and, if a deposit is taken, the Service Alberta prepaid contracting licence.

Published Calgary pages put general asbestos removal at roughly $4 to $10 per square foot, but the real number depends on the material, how friable it is, access, and how much of the house has to be sealed. Popcorn ceilings, drywall compound, floor tile and pipe insulation each price differently, and few Calgary firms publish those figures, so get written quotes that state the scope, the containment and the clearance testing.