Alberta Health Services Warns About Asbestos in Flooding Debris

As if Albertans don’t have it tough enough…

Alberta Health Services is alerting home and property owners to a danger they may not be expecting – asbestos.

A massive clean-up and reconstruction effort is beginning as Albertans recover from the devastation wreaked by the worst flooding in recorded history. 75,000 people were under a mandatory evacuation order in Calgary’s core alone, among tens of thousands more across the province.

The AHS is reminding returning homeowners to be careful of asbestos in the debris. In homes built before the mid-1980’s, asbestos may be present in many forms, compounds and areas, including:

• drywall mud
• ceiling tiles
• insulation
• floor tiles

Flooding, Renovations and More
Even here in Ontario, the weather has been wet and volatile. A flooded basement is hardly uncommon especially in older homes, and insulation and other materials that you remove may contain asbestos. Renovations will also disturb asbestos or asbestos containing materials, and that’s where it gets dangerous.

• Asbestos becomes dangerous when the material deteriorates, creating inhalable (or friable) fibres.

Take Their Advice
Alberta Health Services is advising people to use professional asbestos removal services rather than attempting to handle the material on their own. It’s no joke and not an over-reaction. No amount of asbestos exposure is considered to be safe. Let our professionals take care of your asbestos concerns, which may involve asbestos remediation – if material is intact, it is not inhalable or considered dangerous, so at times it is possible to fully remediate a material or area so that it no longer poses a danger – or outright asbestos removal.

At GreenStream Environmental, our seasoned team of asbestos removal experts can handle large or smaller asbestos remediation or removal jobs – call us for a quote today.

In the Toronto area contact GreenStreamEnvironmental.ca at (416) 818-9414.

Featured in Mike Holmes’ magazine, HGTV’s Income Properties, W Network’s Love It Or List It and chosen by Homestars.com as “Best Toronto Asbestos Removal Company” based on customer ratings and reviews, GreenStream Environmental Services are fully-certified, trusted and insured professionals in the removal and disposal of commercial, industrial, institutional and residential asbestos, vermiculite and mould (hazardous and non-hazardous). Providing emergency service 24/7/365 for all of Toronto and the GTA (North York, Mississauga, Markham, Brampton, Scarborough, Ajax, Oshawa, and beyond) GreenStream has over 40 combined years of experience serving clients such as the City of Toronto, the Toronto District School Board and many more. For a free estimate in Toronto, the GTA and Southern Ontario, call today at 416-818-9414.  You’ll be glad you did.