Dealing With Mould On The Jobsite

Breaking the Mould

Hazardous materials training can offer an edge

Q & A By Ted McIntyre with Geoff Leclair, Principal Environmental Consultant, Contaminant Solutions

Ottawa’s Holland Renovations has seen the forecast and they’re bracing for phone calls.

“I suspect we’re going to start seeing a lot more mould because our weather is changing so much,” notes Holland’s president and owner Robert Breau. “Homes are being taxed a lot more than they ever were previously. With so much snow melt and rain, people who’ve never had a problem are going to start seeing water in their basements. The result is going to be more mould.”

Given the potential costs of mould and asbestos remediation, Breau took a savvy proactive approach by training staff to remove the materials themselves, rather than subcontract.

“Before we begin a project, we have to get a Designated Substance Report,” Breau notes. “It’s technically the homeowner’s responsibility, but as the contractor, we realize that many of our customers are not aware of the Ministry’s requirement, so we’ll advise them and get the reports for them.

“But if they have to deal with a costly asbestos removal, it can get in the way of us getting the work,” Breau notes. “So we decided to have our staff trained to do Type 1 and Type 2 asbestos abatement. But for vermiculite or that kind of thing, or anything with power tools, we’ll bring someone in.

“We got involved in it almost on a loss-leader basis,” Breau explains. “We’ll do it at cost and to cover our insurance, so (the client’s cost) might be $2,000 instead of $10,000 for an asbestos removal.”

It’s something contractors need to be aware of, particularly with the Ontario Occupational and Safety Act now prescribing a $25,000 fine for those who remove asbestos without testing and without taking proper precautions.

There are, of course, much worse potential consequences. According to Statistics Canada data, in 2016, well over 500 Canadians died of mesothelioma, an asbestos-linked lung cancer. The number of new mesothelioma cases has risen more than 60% in the last 20 years, and that number doesn’t even include data from Quebec since 2010. Further, after falls, exposure to asbestos is the second-leading cause of occupational death in the country.

And that makes experts like Geoff Leclair increasingly important. Not only did Leclair train the staff at Holland Renovations, but as the principal environmental consultant and owner of Ottawa’s Contaminant Solutions, with more than 17 years of experience in the industry, few are more adept at measuring for asbestos, mould and other hazardous materials.

OHB: You have three levels of asbestos training?

geoff leclair: The first is asbestos awareness, for workers or project managers, to help them be aware of what materials contain asbestos, and the health implications that can occur. For example, in a renovation, they can say, ‘OK, we’ve got drywall, so the joint compound might contain asbestos. Same with a textured ceiling. The second level is Type 1 and Type 2 worker training—low- and moderate-risk asbestos abatement operations, such as removing flooring, plaster, stipple coats, transite siding. Type 3 training is high-risk asbestos removal. For mould, it’s just two levels of training.

Other than the obvious visual, what are warning signs for mould?

Any signs of water infiltration, like historic water staining. Essentially when water travels through concrete, the water evaporates, but any salts present in the water remain, leaving a white residue. So that’s a good indication that water is getting through. Another sign to watch for is bulging or warping of drywall around windows and doors, their price is going to be marked up. So I often recommend to companies such as these that they get Type 1 and Type 2 Asbestos Worker certification, because that will cover them for most issues, and it’s only a half-day of training.

What’s the worst situation you’ve encountered?

I actually did a mould assessment for a property manager a few weeks ago for two apartment units—one on top of the other—to assess the risk for people occupying the units. We found a number of hot spots and staining, and I did some test holes in the wall and air sampling. The normal indoor concentration of Aspergillus/Penicillium-like mould spores is 700 counts per cubic metre or lower, but the concentration in these units was 250,000. So remediation workers were obviously required to wear protective suits and respirators to remove it.

The critical thing with mould is often timing, where there’s been a flood or a pipe burst. If you get in right away and dry the materials and remove what’s impacted, you’ll typically have a very small issue. But if it continues to be wet for as long as 48 hours, the problem can become severe and you can get some significant mould growth on mould-susceptible materials. So you have to be careful even during renovations.

Are you aware of contractors who have gotten ill because of exposure?

Absolutely. I’ve had coworkers (in my past career) who have done mould assessments without wearing respiratory protection. There was one incident of workers inside a school portable. Everything inside looked fine, so they spent a considerable amount of time poking around, but when they opened things up, the walls were black and furry on the inside, covered with toxigenic mould. That night, both workers developed severe headaches—headaches like they’d never experienced before—and one had to go the hospital.

With asbestos, it’s more of a chronic issue, but with mould it can happen pretty quickly.