Commercial buildings can impair health when materials, systems, or maintenance decisions allow hazardous agents to enter air or water, accumulate in dust, or persist in building fabric. For owners, lenders, and facility managers, this is a due diligence problem as much as a health one: unmanaged hazards drive liability, derail transactions, and shorten asset life.
A disciplined building assessment program that integrates structure, MEP systems, and hazardous materials keeps occupants and portfolios safe. Nichols Environmental + Engineering delivers Building Condition Assessments (BCAs) and hazardous building material assessments that examine structural components, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, interiors, and exteriors, then report deficiencies and lifecycle costs.
Here, we outline the most common contaminants as well as paths to management and remediation.
Why Buildings Affect Health: Exposure Pathways
People are exposed to hazardous materials in buildings primarily by inhalation (gases, vapours, particulates, aerosols), ingestion of settled dust, and waterborne aerosols from premise plumbing and cooling towers. Canada’s public-health and occupational bodies highlight indoor contaminants of concern in offices and other occupied spaces, such as asbestos, mould, radon, carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and fine particulates. Each comes with its specific sources and controls.
Priority Hazards in Buildings and Building Materials According to Legislation
Asbestos-Containing Materials (ACMs) In Legacy Construction
Asbestos is prohibited from new manufacture, import, sale and most uses under federal regulations (in force since 2018), but ACMs remain in many pre-1990 assemblies (e.g., fireproofing, pipe insulation, ceiling tiles, floor tiles, mastics, cement board). Owners are expected to locate, manage, and control ACMs before disturbance. Federal requirements outline asbestos management plan elements and labelling. Meanwhile, provincial OHS rules make pre-renovation/demolition surveys and control procedures mandatory.
Lead-Based Paint and Dust
Lead persists in coatings and some plumbing materials in older buildings. Disturbance during renovation creates respirable and ingestible dust. Canadian authorities warn that lead is toxic, and chronic exposure impairs neurological and cardiovascular health. Provincial jurisdictions require exposure control programs on construction projects.
Crystalline Silica During Cutting, Coring, Or Demolition
Silica is abundant in concrete, brick, and tile. Cutting, grinding, or sandblasting can generate respirable crystalline silica that causes silicosis and other lung diseases. Unfortunately, large worker populations remain exposed in Canada. Controls include wet methods, local exhaust, and validated respirators. Site managers should therefore schedule intrusive work off-hours and verify ventilation to ensure worker safety.
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) In Electrical Equipment And Caulks
PCBs appear in older transformers, capacitors, fluorescent-light ballasts, and some elastomeric sealants. Federal PCB Regulations minimize use, storage, and releases and accelerate elimination, while 2023 amendments add a December 31, 2025 end-of-use deadline for certain equipment at generation, transmission, or distribution facilities, with reporting obligations.
Radon From Soil Gas Intrusion
Radon is a colourless, odourless radioactive gas that infiltrates from soil through slab and foundation pathways. Health Canada’s guideline is 200 Bq/m³ (annual average), and mitigation is recommended at or above this level. Long-term (≥91-day) tests are preferred for decision-making. Testing should be included in due diligence, and periodic re-tests should be scheduled after building or HVAC changes.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) And Formaldehyde
Composite wood products, resins, adhesives, and finishes emit VOCs, with formaldehyde being the most consequential for offices and schools. Health Canada maintains Residential Indoor Air Quality Guidelines (RIAQG) and, under CEPA, regulates formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products to reduce indoor exposure.
Mould Due To Moisture-Damaged Materials
There is no health-based exposure limit for mould indoors, so the policy position is simple: promptly remediate moisture problems and remove mouldy materials. Inspection focuses on moisture sources (envelope leaks, wet slabs, HVAC condensate, plumbing) and the extent of visible growth. Remediation must include drying within 24–48 hours where feasible, removal of porous materials that cannot be cleaned, and source fixes to prevent recurrence.
Combustion By-Products: Carbon Monoxide And Nitrogen Dioxide
Poorly vented appliances, attached garages, and fireplaces elevate CO and NO₂. Health Canada’s residential guideline values for CO are 25 ppm (1-hour) and 10 ppm (24-hour). Exceedances indicate unsafe combustion or inadequate ventilation. Gas stoves and similar appliances can raise NO₂, so capture hoods exhausting outdoors and adequate dilution ventilation are essential.
Legionella In Building Water Systems
Legionella proliferates in warm, stagnant water within premise plumbing, cooling towers, and decorative features. Canadian guidance recommends building water management plans (water safety plans), identifying systems, assigning responsible persons, maintaining temperatures/disinfectant, and documenting monitoring/corrective actions. Federal custodians apply dedicated Legionella control standards in their buildings, while private owners should adopt the same programmatic approach, aligned with recognized guidance.
How We Detect and Quantify Risk in Buildings
1. Occupational Hygiene And Hazardous Building Materials
Nichols Environmental + Engineering delivers occupational hygiene programs that pair hazardous building materials surveys with targeted air and exposure monitoring. We confirm the presence of asbestos, lead (paint and water distribution pipes), mercury (thermostats, fluorescent lighting), PCBs (transformers), mould, and radon via inspection and/or sampling, then provide abatement air monitoring and oversight to protect occupants and contractors during work.
Our team runs radon testing programs (short- and long-term), manages mould investigations and abatement oversight, and conducts commercial/industrial IAQ testing for VOCs, particulate matter (dust, silica), welding fumes, mould, asbestos, and radon, with decision-ready reporting for project controls and compliance.
2. Integrate Hazardous Materials into Building Condition Assessments
A Building Condition Assessment (BCA) is the right platform to surface health risks alongside capital needs. Scope should include: intrusive reviews where warranted, targeted bulk material sampling (asbestos, lead, suspect PCB caulks), visual moisture/mould inspection, and screening for IAQ triggers (combustion sources, attached garage pathways, ventilation imbalances).
Nichols Environmental + Engineering structures BCAs to summarize component condition, identify deficiencies, and forecast costs. Owners and lenders can then use the findings to plan interventions and negotiations.
3. Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) And Source Diagnostics
When complaints or risk indicators are present, we escalate the assessment to an IAQ investigation following Health Canada’s office technical guide methodology. This involves defining the problem, reviewing HVAC design/operation, collecting indicator parameters (CO, CO₂, temperature, RH), and then targeting contaminants of concern. For example, Radon testing uses long-term devices, CO/NO₂ monitoring confirms combustion safety and VOC/formaldehyde sampling verifies material emissions.
4. Water System Risk Management
For waterborne contaminants, we develop a building water management plan and map hot- and cold-water systems and cooling towers, set temperature and residual disinfectant targets, define flushing schedules, and establish sampling points and response actions. Our team then documents deviations and corrective measures and reviews performance after shutdowns or occupancy changes.
Procurement And Operations: What Owners and Lenders Should Require
Before Acquisition or Major Works
- Commission a BCA that explicitly includes hazardous materials screening and IAQ risk flags; align sampling plans with project scope and timing.
- Add radon testing for ground-contact zones and lower levels; plan mitigation in base-building budgets where readings meet the action level.
- Obtain pre-renovation hazardous materials surveys; integrate abatement allowances into the cost plan and schedule.
During Operations
- Maintain and update asbestos/lead/PCB inventories; track labels, isolation, and removal history.
- Verify combustion safety: commission; confirm flue integrity; monitor CO during seasonal startups; ventilate attached garage interfaces.
- Control moisture: keep RH in target ranges, fix envelope and plumbing leaks quickly, and use work orders that require root-cause correction (not cosmetic cleaning).
- Operate a written building water management plan; tighten controls after shutdowns and record flushing, temperatures, and disinfectant residuals.
- Specify low-emitting products (composite wood compliant with federal formaldehyde emissions regulation) and require post-fit-out ventilation/flush-outs.
Summary of Regulatory and Guideline Anchors
- Radon: Take action at ≥ 200 Bq/m³ (annual average). Prefer long-term tests (≥91 days) for decisions.
- Carbon Monoxide: Health Canada residential guideline values: 25 ppm (1-hour) and 10 ppm (24-hour); use as conservative operational limits in offices. Persistent exceedances require appliance and ventilation investigation.
- Formaldehyde/VOCs: Health Canada RIAQG provide health-based guidance on emissions from source materials.
- Asbestos: Prohibition of Asbestos and Products Containing Asbestos Regulations (SOR/2018-196) restrict new uses; asbestos management plans and labelling are addressed in federal standards and mirrored by provincial OHS requirements.
- PCBs: Federal PCB Regulations minimize use/storage/release; 2023 amendments set Dec 31, 2025 end-of-use for specified electrical equipment at certain power facilities.
- Mould: Health Canada advises immediate remediation and moisture control.
- Legionella: Health Canada endorses building water management/water safety plans for premise plumbing and cooling towers.
Work With Nichols Environmental + Engineering Today
Nichols Environmental + Engineering supports owners, REITs, lenders, and occupiers with BCAs, hazardous building materials surveys, IAQ diagnostics, water management planning, and remediation oversight across Western Canada. Our BCA deliverables summarize each component, identify issues, and align capex with risk controls so projects can move forward without surprises.
Contact us today to learn more about our services.
