Whereas the recent WorkSafeBC regulation, Safe Work Practises for Handling Asbestos, will financially impact local governments in British Columbia since the majority of buildings are constructed pre-1990; And whereas the provincial government downloading the costs of inspections and asbestos abatement to the owners will cause a decline in house sales pre-1990, heritage homes will be destroyed, and this will also will encourage illegal construction and increase illegal dumping on Crown Land: Therefore be it resolved that the WorkSafeBC regulation, Safe Work Practises for Handling Asbestos, be postponed until a financial plan is in place to assist the owners of pre-1990 buildings.
Ministry of Labour Government is committed to making British Columbia the safest jurisdiction for workers in all of Canada. The safety of all workers is of utmost concern to Government and WorkSafeBC. The Government of British Columbia is keenly aware of the extent to which asbestos is a significant health and safety issue for BC workplaces and BC workers. The resolution refers to Safe Work Practices for Handling Asbestos, which is a WorkSafeBC publication that describes the safe methods for handling all types of asbestos-containing materials. This publication was updated in April 2017 to reflect changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation OHSR which took effect on May 1, 2017. The changes to the OHSR relate to: -Part 6: Substance Specific Requirements, section 6.4, Asbestos Inventory. The primary purpose of the amendments to Part 6 were to ensure that, in addition to the employer, the owner of a workplace is also held responsible for the completion and maintenance of the asbestos-containing materials ACM inventory and to ensure certain information is included as part of the inventory. -Part 20: Construction, Excavation and Demolition of the OHSR, section 20.2, Notice of Project NOP. The purpose of the amendments to Part 20 was to expand the scope of the NOP submission responsibility beyond the workplace owner or prime contractor to also include all employers responsible for work on the project involving asbestoslead abatement and similar activities which may expose workers to a significant risk of occupational disease. Homeowners were not the focus of the changes to Part 6, and the changes to Part 20 regarding the NOP requirements are more administrative in nature. It should be noted that WorkSafeBC consulted extensively on the changes with pre-consultation sessions in early 2015, and then public consultations from December 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016, and then public hearings in September and October, 2016. WorkSafeBCs Board of Directors approved the changes in January 2017, and they came into effect on May 1, 2017. Accordingly, the regulatory amendments cannot be postponed. Any change to the existing requirements would require a further change to the OHSR.
WorkSafeBC To protect workers from exposures to asbestos fibres, there are comprehensive requirements in the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation OHSR in Parts 6 and 20. These requirements include maintaining an inventory of asbestos-containing materials in a workplace, and having a qualified person conduct an inspection of workplaces where a demolition or renovation of a building or structure may disturb asbestos-containing materials. These basic requirements are not new and have been in place for many years. Your letter includes a resolution of the UBCM asking WorkSafeBC to postpone the implementation of the WorkSafeBC regulation Safe Work Practices for Handling Asbestos. To clarify, Safe Work Practices for Handling Asbestos is a WorkSafeBC publication not part of the OHSR, which describes the safe methods for handling asbestos-containing materials ACM. The publication describes suitable work procedures for the removal, enclosure, and encapsulation of the ACM. This publication was recently updated in April 2017 to reflect changes to the OHSR in effect on May 1, 2017, addressing asbestos inventory, record keeping, and notice of project NOP for asbestos. The May 1, 2017 changes to the OHSR are as follows: Part 6: Substance Specific Requirements, section 6.4, Asbestos Inventory. The primary purpose of amendments to Part 6 were to ensure that in addition to the employer at a workplace, the owner of that workplace is also held responsible for the completion and maintenance of the ACM inventory and to ensure certain information is included as part of the inventory. Part 20: Construction, Excavation and Demolition of the OHSR. The purpose of the amendments to Part 20 was to expand the scope of the Notice of Project requirement to include employers for projects involving asbestoslead abatement work and similar activities which may expose workers to a significant risk of occupational disease. WorkSafeBC consulted extensively on the recent regulation changes with external stakeholders through 2015 and 2016. WorkSafeBCs Board of Directors approved the changes in January 2017 and they came into effect on Mary 1, 2017. Accordingly, the regulatory amendments cannot be postponed. Any change to the existing requirements would require a further change to the OHSR. Homeowners were not the focus of the above changes to the OHSR, and we do not anticipate any new or additional burden on residential homeowners. First, with respect to the changes to Part 6, the requirement to prepare an inventory arises only in connection to a workplace, which would only capture homes when work is being undertaken on them. In such cases, a homeowner may rely on a contractor to engage the services of a qualified person to do the appropriate assessment to identify ACM and prepare the appropriate safe work procedures. This is not a change to our requirements. Second, there is no new or additional requirement to undertake abatement of ACM. ACM is only a hazard when disturbed, and if work is to be done that may disturb ACM, appropriate safe work procedures must be put in place. However, homeowners are not required proactively remove asbestos from their homes. The changes to Part 20 regarding the NOP requirements are administrative in nature. Although the recent changes to the OHSR did not focus on homeowners, we do encourage homeowners to play a role in keeping workers safe. WorkSafeBC recently launched an Asbestos Awareness Campaign to reach out to homeowners about the importance of keeping workers safe from asbestos exposure during renovation and demolition work. Properly addressing the asbestos hazards also ensures that the occupants of the home are not exposed to asbestos fibres.