SK asbestos disposal rules not as deep as other provinces

The Regina man also believed asbestos waste should be buried in a pit because that is the rule in other provinces. In Alberta and Ontario asbestos waste requires an immediate cover of 25 centimetres (cm) or about 10 inches. Plus a final cover of 125 cm or just over four feet. In B.C. it requires a cover of a foot and a half of dirt.

Wes Kotyk is the executive director of the environmental protection branch at Sask Environment. He explained that the rules for asbestos disposal do not require a minimum depth.

“We don’t currently specify that, our concern is that it’s immediately buried and that it’s buried appropriately so that it will not be disturbed,” he said.

Technically asbestos is more dangerous after it is disturbed rather than when it's inside a wall because it's easier for the dust and fibres to get into the air.

There are pages of rules regarding how you handle asbestos when it's inside buildings and how to remove it. This year the Saskatchewan Government also introduced new provincial registry for public buildings containing asbestos called Howard’s Law. However, once you take asbestos out of a wall and deliver it to the dump there are only two rules.

“We do ask that they be double bagged and that they be immediately buried on disposal,” Kotyk explained.

Lisa Legault is the Manager of Landfill Operations for the City of Regina. She says special permits outline all of the rules for safely transporting asbestos to the dump. She also noted that landfill staff members have plenty of experience dealing with asbestos waste because they take in approximately three loads every week.

“We create a berm and then we place the asbestos into the berm and then cover the asbestos,” she said,

With no exact rule on how deep to bury asbestos waste, Legault says their standard practice is to cover it with at least one foot of dirt.

A foot of cover is not what our tipster witnessed, so what happened? Legault says on that particular day, June 28, landfill staff waited an hour and a half so they could cover two loads of asbestos at once.

So if it's not buried very deep, how do they make sure the bags won't burst?

Legault explains unlike regular garbage, compacting machinery never drives over the isolated asbestos area. She adds that they make sure bags are fully sealed heavy six-mil polyethlyne bags when they arrive.

The question remains, how much dirt is enough to keep asbestos underground? While the provincial government piles on more laws about asbestos inside buildings, could they be digging deeper for regulations on safe disposal?

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by Adriana Christianson

SK asbestos disposal rules not as deep as other provinces

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