The rule, in plain language
Alberta's occupational health and safety legislation treats asbestos as a controlled hazard. Before work that could disturb building materials, the owner or employer has to know whether asbestos-containing materials are present, and where they are, and materials that could release fibres have to be dealt with before they are disturbed. "Dealt with" in a demolition context almost always means removed by a qualified abatement contractor under controlled conditions.
The practical threshold most consultants use is the mid-1990s: asbestos was used in a wide range of building products — floor tile and mastic, drywall joint compound, ceiling texture, pipe and boiler insulation, vermiculite, roofing, cement board, gaskets — into that decade. A building from that era is assumed to contain it until a survey says otherwise.
Who does what
- The consultant. A qualified assessor surveys the building, samples suspect materials, sends them to a lab and produces a report that says what is present, where, in what condition and in what quantity. On a demolition this is a pre-demolition (destructive) survey, which is more thorough than a routine management survey because everything is coming down.
- The abatement contractor. A contractor qualified for asbestos work removes the identified materials under containment, with the air monitoring and waste handling the regulations require. This is specialist work with its own equipment, training and paperwork.
- The clearance. Once abatement is complete the consultant confirms the areas are clear. That document is what lets everyone else start.
- The demolition contractor. Only now does the demolition begin. Our crews take the building or the interior apart from a clean starting point.
What Zebra Demolition does and does not do
We are a demolition contractor, not an abatement contractor, and we do not blur that line. Every Edmonton competitor's website advertises abatement; some of them subcontract it and some of them are genuinely licensed for it. What matters to you is that whoever does the abatement is qualified for it and that the demolition does not start until the clearance exists. If your project needs an abatement contractor, tell us — we will plan the demolition around their schedule rather than pretend the two jobs are one.
Why this decides the schedule
On an older building, the asbestos chain — survey, lab turnaround, abatement, clearance — is usually the single biggest schedule variable, bigger than the demolition itself. It cannot be run in parallel with the teardown. Start it as early as the permit and utility disconnects, because a demolition crew standing outside a building waiting for a clearance is the most expensive way to discover the survey was late.
What to send us
- The asbestos survey report, if one exists — and the year the building was constructed, if one does not.
- The abatement scope and schedule, so we can book behind it.
- The clearance letter before our start date. We confirm it is in hand at the estimate and again before mobilization.
General guidance only. The legislation, the sampling standards and the disposal rules are specific and change; a qualified consultant is the right source for what your building requires.