Workplace air monitoring

 Phase Environmental provides certified air quality testing services across Vancouver Island to help workplaces comply with WorkSafeBC regulations and protect worker health. Our third-party air monitoring programs are designed to detect harmful airborne contaminants on the job site, such as:

· Asbestos Fibres

· Lead Dust

· Respirable Crystalline Silica 

We work with property managers, contractors, and employers to ensure safe, breathable air before, during, and after abatement or construction activities.

 Personal air monitors are placed in workers' breathing zones to assess fibre exposure during removal. This ensures that protective measures—particularly respiratory equipment—are effective and that workers remain within safe exposure limits.

As part of our Worker Exposure Sampling, we videotape the worker wearing the personal air monitor (OCC) during the sampling period. This short recording is visual documentation that the sampling was conducted correctly using WorkSafeBC protocols. The video, the official lab results, and the report package are shared with the client.

This type of air testing is performed before asbestos removal begins. It helps confirm that the area is safe for workers to enter, especially if there’s concern that asbestos-containing materials may have been disturbed before the start of work. Establishing a clean baseline allows us to detect any existing airborne fibres before abatement activities commence.

 Worker Exposure Sampling Testing Services, include: 

1. Worker Exposure Sampling (Occupational)

2. Clean Room Air Sampling

3. Ambient Abatement Sampling

Personal air monitors are placed in workers'' breathing zones to assess fibre exposure during removal. This ensures that protective measures—particularly respiratory equipment—are effective and that workers remain within safe exposure limits.

The video, the official lab results, and the report package are shared with the client.

 Benefits of Video Verification:

✅ Transparency – Clients can see exactly how and when the sampling was conducted

✅Compliance Support – Provides supporting evidence for WorkSafeBC inspections or audits

✅ Training Tool– Can be used internally to educate staff on proper procedures

✅ Accountability– Confirms that sampling aligns with the scope of work and time of day

✅ Peace of Mind– Builds trust by reinforcing our commitment to accurate, defensible results. 

This added layer of verification ensures complete confidence in your exposure monitoring results and offers a professional edge that sets Phase Environmental apart. 

The clean room is the final area in the decontamination sequence, where workers change back into street clothes after completing asbestos removal work. This space must remain free of airborne asbestos fibres to prevent worker re-exposure and to ensure that fibres have not migrated outside the designated work area.

Clean room air sampling is conducted daily to confirm the area is contamination-free and to ensure the containment system maintains proper separation between clean and dirty zones—an essential part of safe and compliant asbestos abatement.

Ambient air sampling occurs daily outside the containment zone to ensure asbestos fibres do not escape into surrounding spaces. This type of monitoring is critical when unprotected workers or building occupants are nearby, helping to verify the effectiveness of barriers, negative air pressure, and engineering controls.

Clearance air monitoring confirms that no hazardous levels of asbestos fibres remain in the space.

 TEM Analysis for Greater Sensitivity

While PCM suits most situations, we also offer Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) testing when greater sensitivity is needed. TEM is ideal for:

✅ Legal or disputed cases

✅ Environments with very low fibre concentrations

✅ Projects involving fine asbestos types such as chrysotile or amphibole

Documentation You Can Rely On

We provide clear, defensible documentation that meets or exceeds regulatory expectations:

✅ WorkSafeBC-compliant clearance documentation

✅ Detailed sampling strategies with flow rates, pump calibration, and rationale

✅ Full sample logs, lab results, and field blank records

✅ Chain of custody forms and QA/QC tracking

✅ Written confirmation from a qualified person verifying the area is safe

✅ Visual inspection reports and verification that the scope of work was completed properly 

Lead dust can become airborne when painted surfaces are sanded, cut, demolished, or disturbed, especially in buildings constructed before 1992. Inhalation of lead particles poses serious health risks, including neurological damage and developmental issues, particularly in vulnerable populations.

WorkSafeBC regulations require lead air monitoring during any project where lead-based paint is disturbed. Testing is typically conducted at the start of the project and repeated as needed to assess exposure, using the NIOSH 7082 method for accurate airborne lead measurement.

We also offer lead air clearance testing and surface dust sampling at the end of projects to confirm that lead dust has been effectively removed and that areas are safe for re-occupancy. Monitoring ensures that proper containment, ventilation, and PPE protocols function effectively and provides regulatory documentation when needed.

Respirable crystalline silica is released into the air when common building materials—concrete, cement, mortar, masonry, brick, tile, plaster, or drywall compounds—are cut, crushed, drilled, or ground. Once inhaled, silica particles can become embedded deep in the lungs and may lead to serious conditions, including silicosis and lung cancer.

To monitor worker exposure and ensure that engineering controls are working as intended, we conduct silica air sampling by the NIOSH 7500 method. This allows us to measure airborne silica concentrations and confirm compliance with WorkSafeBC occupational exposure limits.

Silica monitoring is especially critical during high-risk tasks where workers and bystanders may be exposed to fine particulate dust. Regular testing supports a safe work environment and protects your team from long-term respiratory harm.