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Asbestos Containing Building Materials 

Asbestos was used in building materials in Canada up until the 1980s, some products manufactured today still use asbestos. Asbestos containing material (ACM) can be found throughout the home and work place, below is a non exhaustive list of potential ACM. ​

  • Acoustical Plaster

  • Adhesives

  • Asphalt Floor Tile

  • Base Flashing

  • Blown-in (Loose fill) Insulation

  • Boiler Insulation

  • Breaching Insulation

  • Caulking/Putties

  • Ceiling Tiles and Lay-in Panels

  • Cement Pipes

  • Cement Siding

  • Cement Wallboard

  • Construction Mastics (floor tile, carpet, ceiling tile, etc.)

  • Cooling Towers

  • Decorative Plaster

  • Ductwork Flexible Fabric Connections

  • Electrical Cloth

  • Electrical Panel Partitions

  • Electrical Wiring Insulation

  • Elevator Brake Shoes

  • Elevator Equipment Panels

  • Fire Doors

  • Fireproofing Materials

  • Flooring Backing

  • Heating and Electrical Ducts

  • High Temperature Gaskets

  • HVAC Duct Insulation

  • Joint Compounds

  • Pipe Insulation (corrugated air-cell, block, etc.)

  • Roofing Felt

  • Roofing Shingles

  • Spackling Compounds

  • Sprayed-on Insulation

  • Taping Compounds (thermal)

  • Textured Paints/Coatings

  • Thermal Paper Products

  • Vinyl Floor Tile

  • Vinyl Sheet Flooring

  • Vinyl Wall Coverings

  • Wallboard

Friable and Non-Friable

ACM can be further divided between Friable ACM and Non-friable ACM. 

 

  • Friable ACM is easily crumbled or pulverized with the force exerted by ones fingers.

    Examples include plasters, joint compounds and some insulations. 

 

  • Non-friable ACM is held together by some type of binding agent. 

    Examples include floor tiles, ceiling tiles and adhesives. 

 

Friability is important as it in part determines the level of risk posed to personnel who are working with or around the materials.

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5 Common ACMs Encountered

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Joint Compound: 

Including on drywall joints, skim coats and ceiling

texture coats.

 Vinyl Floor Tiles:

Especially those that measure 9 by 9 inches.

Insulations:

Including loose-fill, block and spray-on insulation.

Plasters:

Including both white and grey plasters.

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 Pipe Wrap:

Mainly heating pipes but occasionally water and waste pipes.

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