Can asbestos floor tiles be covered instead of removed in Ottawa?

Covering intact tiles instead of removing them is a choice some owners weigh, and Health Canada says there are no significant health risks if asbestos-containing materials are left undisturbed, sealed behind walls and floorboards, or tightly bound in good condition. Published Ontario contractor prices for removal of vinyl floor tile and mastic that contains asbestos run roughly $5 to $15 per square foot (general asbestos removal is $8 to $15 per square foot), so covering can look attractive when the tiles are in good condition.

What decides it

O. Reg. 278/05 classifies work by whether material is disturbed and how much. Removing non-friable asbestos-containing material without breaking or cutting it is a Type 1 operation. If the tiles are friable, or removal would break or cut them outside the Type 1 conditions, a higher Type and its controls may apply. Whether your tiles are friable is something the contractor decides on site, not from a photo or description. The question with covering is whether installing the new floor disturbs the tiles at all.

Ask the contractor to say in writing whether the tiles are intact, and whether the new flooring can go down without cutting, grinding or sanding them.

A few things to settle before you choose covering over removal:

• Whether the tiles have been tested and confirmed to contain asbestos at 0.5 per cent or more by dry weight (the threshold under O. Reg. 278/05, section 3(4)), or whether you are proceeding on the assumption that they do.
• Whether the installation of the new flooring requires any fastening, cutting or grinding that would disturb the tiles beneath.
• What the contractor's written scope says about the condition of the tiles and the method being used.
• Where the waste goes if any tiles do need to come out: Ontario Regulation 347 requires asbestos waste to be transported only to a disposal site whose operator has agreed to accept it, so that arrangement must be made before any material leaves the property.

A clearance air test is required by O. Reg. 278/05 only after Type 3 work. If the job stays at Type 1 or Type 2, the regulation does not require one, though you can ask for it to be included in the quote.

After the job is done, keep the original lab report confirming what the tiles contain, the contractor's written description of the Type of work performed and the method used, and, if a clearance air test was done, the results, which the owner is required to keep for at least one year under section 18 of O. Reg. 278/05.

Before you commit, ask the contractor to confirm in writing whether the installation of the new flooring will disturb the tiles at any point, and what they will do if a tile breaks during the work.