What Are the Environmental Regulatory Requirements for Lead Abatement

Safe Work Practices and Regulations for Handling Lead

The environmental regulatory requirements related to lead and other heavy metals abatement are governed by federal and provincial law. The focus of this article is on lead containing materials. In British Columbia, WSBC regulates hazardous materials abatement and advises worker exposures to lead must be kept as low as reasonably achievable below the occupational exposure limit. Although the Regulation specifies exposure limits for lead, employers must further reduce or eliminate worker exposure if it can reasonably be done, the ALARA principal.

The Environmental Protection Division of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy issued a document in 2021 outlining the rules and guidelines required for managing lead-containing construction and demolition waste. And, fundamentally, that is what abatement is, the removal of materials with the implication that these materials are hazardous. 

In today’s blog article, we are going to briefly go over how these regulatory requirements work. This is actually a lengthy and complex topic and a complete description would be beyond the scope of a brief blog article. 

Where can lead be found in the workplace?

Lead is a highly toxic metal to almost all of our organs and has been widely used in the manufacture of many consumer products. Lead containing materials can be found everywhere in general industry. Workers can come in contact with lead dust in manufacturing facilities and during renovation and/or demolition of facilities and buildings. Lead is contained in paint, primers, coatings and caulking, ceramic tile glazing, decorative glass, roof sheeting, rolled and extruded ammunition and gun ranges, just to list a few.

risk-assessment and safe work Plan 

Depending on what the lead compounds are and in what form they are, a plan is designed to figure out how to test for, remove them safely and where to transport them. 

Like the old saying goes, the dose makes the poison. Aside from worker contamination, waste disposal and leachability of lead waste is also an issue. Questions that need an answer include, how much lead is involved, is it leachable, how likely is it to leach into the environment?  So, depending on the answers to these questions, the lead refuse may need to be labelled as hazardous waste and go to a special place for hazardous waste—or not, as the case may be. Even the movement of lead waste is regulated and requires certifications in order to take it from point A to point B. 

This is why it is critical to use experienced professionals to handle lead abatement. Several certifications are required to do this work, and it is dangerous. Knowing what to do and how to do it is necessary for the safety of all involved including the environment. 

Hazardous materials abatement is our business, and we are available to help you if you need an experienced decontamination company. We are licensed in BC to handle, manage, remove, and dispose of many hazardous materials including lead. We can be reached toll-free in Surrey, BC at (888) 296-2499. 

Enviro-Vac is one of the oldest privately owned environmental contractors in Canada offering a full suite of services in hazardous materials abatement and decontamination including negative pressure shrink-wrap containments, industrial vacuum services, combustible dust abatement, abrasive blasting and plant dust-down services. Enviro-Vac are available to work both small and large-scale projects across Canada. The head office is based in Surrey, BC. 

If you have any questions about this article or would like to talk to us about hazardous materials abatement, decontamination or shrink-wrap solutions, please call us on our toll-free number, (888) 296-2499.