Reliable Air Quality Testing Services in Toronto and across Ontario
The air around us is filled with various irritants, pollutants and toxins that can have a detrimental effect on your health. If you experience health issues that can’t be easily explained, such as an ongoing cough, nosebleed or respiratory problems, testing the indoor air quality can help identify potential sources of contamination in and around your home. This includes testing for mould, asbestos fibres, and other microscopic particles invisible to the human eye.
For over 30 years, Fisher Engineering Limited has assisted countless clients from Toronto and across Ontario with various indoor air quality concerns. We’re equipped with a wide range of cutting-edge technologies to detect and address hazardous materials and contaminants in your home or business.
We specialize in addressing indoor air quality concerns such as mould, asbestos, and other hazardous materials and provide you with the best solutions to your problem to help you breathe easy again. If you are thinking of calling professionals to test the air quality of your residential or commercial property in Toronto, reach out to our team at Fisher Engineering Limited today.
Read our blogs to stay updated with the industry’s latest trends and practices.
The Harmful Effects of Mould and Asbestos on Your Health
Mould and disturbed asbestos fibers are two common pollutants that affect indoor air quality, and they can go overlooked for years before anyone notices.
Due to its cheap and fire-resistant properties, asbestos has been used in construction and manufacturing for a long time. However, once the negative health effects of asbestos were discovered, most countries banned it. Asbestos has been banned from use in Canada since the early 1980s, but its legacy continues to haunt us today.
Disturbed or damaged asbestos fibres easily become airborne and can cause significant health issues if inhaled. Damage to the lungs caused by asbestos fibres can result in physical symptoms such as breathlessness and throat irritation. Prolonged exposure to asbestos can cause respiratory diseases and health issues such as asbestosis, mesothelioma – and lung cancer.
Mould, on the other hand, is a natural part of the environment but can also be very dangerous when growing inside a home or business. Since it needs moisture to survive, mould is often associated with damp buildings or decaying wood. When present indoors, mould can impact indoor air quality by releasing allergens and irritants. Contact with mould can cause respiratory problems like coughing, sneezing, runny nose, sinus congestion, and skin irritation.
It is important to note that mould spores and asbestos fibres are invisible, meaning that you can be exposed to them without even realizing it. With the right air quality testing equipment, it’s possible to detect these harmful particles and make sure that they aren’t present in your home or business.
Call Fisher Engineering Limited if you have any additional questions about our air quality testing services in Toronto, and our team will be happy to assist you.
Why is Air Quality Testing Necessary?
When it comes to air quality testing services, most home and commercial property owners tend to neglect this. However, is important to be vigilant when carrying out any type of work in an environment that could contain asbestos or mould, whether as a homeowner or a tradesman. Determining the presence of these pollutants and other hazardous materials early through air quality testing can help prevent numerous health issues down the line. For that reason, air quality testing is a necessary step in making sure that the air you breathe isn’t harmful to your health or the environment.
Solutions for Unhealthy Materials
Fisher Engineering Limited has been at the forefront in identifying and working with hazardous, toxic, and contaminated substances for over three decades. We have the necessary expertise to:
- Evaluate on-site safety.
- Provide management plans and solutions.
- Ensure the health and safety of all parties involved by complying with provincial regulations.
Contractors and developers are keenly aware of health and safety concerns, especially during demolition. They are involved in constructing older structures with varying building materials no longer considered safe.
Property managers and employers alike always ensure the long-term sustainability of structures for their occupants.
Homeowners and renters also find themselves faced with toxic substances. No matter who you are, health and safety issues can arise. No one is immune from mould growth after a flood to unexpected materials uncovered during renovation.
Fisher helps ALL potential clients including emergency response.
ARE YOU
RENOVATING?
Health & Safety Issues
Are a Concern
for Everyone
Rapid Response
Getting Materials Analyzed
1. We come to you
Fisher’s Rapid Response team can come to your site and sample questionable materials safely and effectively, e.g., mould, asbestos, and lead-based paints, to name a few.
Our Laboratory can provide quick feedback allowing clients tp make real-time adjustments.
2. You can come to us
Our CALA-certified Laboratory can also accept material samples from third-party trained professionals. Simply drop off your samples for lab analysis only.
Regulations
The Ministry of Labour and the The Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) guide regulations. The Act makes provision for a toxic substance also to be designated, where its use in the workplace is prohibited, regulated, restricted, limited, or controlled.
CONTRACTORS
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Our RAPID RESPONSE team is ready to help you reduce downtime by solving challenges.
DO NOT COLLECT
TOXIC OR HARMFUL SUBSTANCES unless you are a trained professional.
Our RAPID RESPONSE team is ready to come to you.
AWARENESS TRAINING
We help you identify typical and other suspect materials.
More on setting up a workshop for your team.
FISHER FILE
About Health And Safety: Do You Know Your Role?
Air Quality testing
Air Quality Investigation (AQI)
Our Air Quality Investigation team has extensive experience dealing with large and small-scale environmental air quality concerns. Everyone, from homeowners to large multi-unit high-rises, turns to Fisher’s expertise when to protect their health and well-being.
Our team is comprised of chemists, engineers, and technologists who are always ready to help you with:
Investigation and identification
Confirmatory samples after completion
Monitoring contracts
Abatement (removal) supervision
Remediation
Our team will provide direct and ongoing support as required with:
- Investigation into substance contamination
- Sampling and identification of substance contamination
- Management plans
- Complete remediation
Typical Materials:
Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Temperature (°C), Relative Humidity (RH), Total Volatile Organic Carbons (TVOCs), Lower Explosive Limit (LEL) for Oxygen (O2), Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S), Methane (CH4), Respirable Particulates (RP), Microbial Contamination (Mould) and Asbestos Fiber concentration in the ambient air.
Hazardous Materials (Hazmat)
Chronic exposure to hazardous or toxic substances, such as PCBs, is harmful to human health. In some cases, acute exposure to hazardous and toxic substances can be fatal. Their proper management and disposal are covered in both Federal and Provincial legislations under several Acts and Regulations.
Fisher has the expertise to work with these hazardous materials and provides a full range of services for assessment, sampling, laboratory analysis, and management.
Typical Materials:
Man-made mineral fibers, ozone-depleting substances (ODS), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and urea-formaldehyde foam insulation (UFFI). See the list of building materials.
Designated Substances
How to deal with Designated Substances
O. Reg. 490/09 provides a consistent approach to dealing with existing requirements and provisions and outlines steps required to control worker exposure to these substances, including inhalation, ingestion, skin absorption, or skin contact.
Each designated substance has an allowable level of exposure based on a time-weighted average (TWA) limit and may also have a short-term exposure limit (STEL) and/or ceiling limit (C) assigned to it.
- TWA refers to the time-weighted average airborne concentration of a biological or chemical agent to which a worker may be exposed in a workday or workweek.
- STEL refers to the maximum airborne concentration of a biological or chemical agent to which a worker may be exposed in any 15-minute period
- C refers to the maximum airborne concentration of a biological or chemical agent to which a worker may be exposed at any time.
Designation is reserved for eleven substances that are particularly hazardous, covered under Ontario Regulation 490/09 – Designated Substances, implemented on July 1, 2010.
Formerly, regulations for these substances were passed separately, and each outlined exposure limits where workers were likely to inhale, ingest. and/or absorb the substance.
Photo: Historic image of asbestos - containing vermiculite used extensively in the building industry prior to the 1980s(source unknown)
FISHER FILE
Asbestos - A Special Case
The Construction Industry
The control of asbestos exposures in the construction industry has evolved into Ontario Regulation 278/05 – Asbestos on Construction Projects and in Buildings and Repair Operations. It is a supplementary regulation.
The regulation includes a definition of asbestos-containing materials (ACM), requirements for additional training, clearance air testing, procedures for determining materials that meet the definition of ACM and for the use of glove bags, and provisions for varying from the measure and procedures set out in the regulation.
More Regulations
In addition to the OHSA and regulations regarding designated substances, the following regulations, guidelines, and standards are also taken into account and referenced:
- Ontario Regulation 213/91 - Construction Projects regulated under the OHSA and last amended by O. Reg. 443/09
- Ontario Regulation 558/00 made under the Ministry of Environment (MOE) Environmental Protection Act, amending Ontario Regulation 347 - General Waste Management
- The Transport of Dangerous Goods Act (TDGA) provides regulations for the transport of asbestos-containing materials and wastes
- MOL Guideline: Lead on Construction Projects, 2011
- MOL Guideline: Silica on Construction Projects, 2011
READ OUR FISHER FILES
MATERIALS
REGULATIONS
EXPLANATIONS
Designated Substance Survey (DSS)
Based on the regulatory requirements, a survey and report of all Designated Substances, including asbestos, is required:
- At a workplace where they are present, produced, processed, used, handled, or stored.
- When a building is undergoing renovations or demolition (prior to commencement).
The survey identifies designated substances present, their locations and concentrations. Activities associated with a designated substances building audit include:
- Identification of designated substances used in and on building materials.
- Sampling of designated substances materials, using safe procedures.
- Analysis of bulk samples to determine type and quantity of substance.
- A detailed report of findings and recommendations.
Fisher Engineering Limited has extensive experience conducting building audits for designated substances and other hazardous materials for large municipalities right down to individual homeowners.
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