Removal of lead based coatings in Kitimat, Terrace, and prince rupert

      Lead is used in many things during construction and can be found in roof vents, piping, soldered joints, bell & spigot drains and much more, but the biggest use is paint. It’s been known for a long time that if you want bright long lasting durable colours, lead is key… After it was found that paint on furniture and toys was giving lead poisoning to children due to ingestion from chewing things, the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) developed regulations that prohibited the importation of paints and painted items that had concentrations of lead greater than 90 parts per million (PPM). That is why Assured Industries offers lead removal services for your properties in Kitimat, Terrace and Prince Rupert.

      Often the laboratories that test for lead will reference this standard for the purposes of pass or fail criteria, but this is a bit misleading as WorkSafeBC does not recognize this standard for the protection of workers. Sure, this standard will protect children and pregnant women from exposure but why not the worker? The answer is surprisingly simple, Pregnant women and children don’t mechanically cut, sand, grind, torch or use excavators on lead coated surfaces…. So those working with lead coated materials are still required under The Regulation to perform a Risk Assessment that captures job task, condition of the material, route of exposure (ingestion, inhalation, or absorption), methods used to work on them, quantities and the controls needed to minimize exposure before work can commence.

      Another potential issue with lead is the waste management. Certain types of lead material have the risk of being leachable, meaning that after the wastes are taken to a facility, they can accidentally leak out into the ground or water table/supply. The Ministry of Environment requires that lead based materials be tested for leachability to protect waste sites from accidentally cross contaminating the natural environment or water supply.

 You can be ASSURED that your lead based materials are being responsibly removed and disposed of.