The Public Health Act, 1994 requires building owners to assess and identify asbestos-containing material (ACM) within all buildings that are owned by:
- the provincial government;
- Crown corporations;
- treasury board Crowns;
- regional health authorities or affiliates; and
- buildings used as schools as defined by The Education Act, 1995.
Owners are required to submit information about ACM within their building to the Asbestos Registry of Public Buildings.
The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2020 provide clarity of definitions, what forms of asbestos are to be reported and indicate what information is required to be reported, such as type, characteristics, accessibility and location.
Complete an Assessment
A safety professional, consultant or person who has asbestos knowledge, experience and training can do this assessment.
The assessment includes the type of ACM (e.g., insulation, boiler and pipe insulation, ceiling stipple, ceiling or floor tile). Materials or groups of materials listed in the registry are comprised of ACM, as defined in Section 23-1 of The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2020. The registry also lists untested materials that are deemed to be ACM under Section 23-5(2).
This assessment also includes characteristic information such as:
- friability (a material is friable if it can be crushed using hand pressure);
- concentration of asbestos in the material if it is known; and
- specific details about the material for easy identification such as colour, shape, size, texture.
As well as a description of the accessibility, for example:
- controlled by physical barriers or administrative procedures;
- enclosed by drywall;
- inside cindercrete block;
- encapsulated with a sealant (common in stipple ceiling materials); and
- encapsulated with non-asbestos cloth or metal (common with wrapped pipe or painted putties or joint compounds).
Register a Building
If you're a building owner, you are responsible for entering information related to the location of asbestos in your public buildings to the Asbestos Registry of Public Buildings.
- You will be required to set up a user account on the registry. You can manager your account, edit and delete information related to your facilities within the registry. For help in setting up an account or how to add a building to the registry, please see the Saskatchewan Asbestos Registry for Public Buildings User Guide: User Accounts and Submissions.
- Employers and contractors can deem material as asbestos containing until it is determined to be asbestos free. For example, vintage vinyl tiles from the '50s and '60s can be deemed and listed as potential asbestos containing materials. Materials deemed as ACM must meet all legislative requirements.
- Building owners must regularly review the information posted on the registry to ensure that it is kept up-to-date. As asbestos changes occur, the registry must be updated. For example, if pipe insulation is removed, and it is listed on the registry as ACM, the change must be made to the registry.
- If buildings are sold to owners not prescribed by The Public Health Act, 1994, or bought by prescribed owners, the information must be updated in the registry.
Update the Asbestos Registry of Public Buildings
Warranty Disclaimer
The Saskatchewan Asbestos Registry of Public Buildings contains information that may be voluntarily posted by public agencies. Information on the Asbestos Registry is provided as a public service by the Government of Saskatchewan. The Asbestos Registry, and all of the information it contains is provided strictly "as is" and without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied.
We cannot guarantee that all information is complete, current, or accurate. Users should verify information before acting on it.
There may be websites linked to and from this site that are operated, created by, or for organizations outside of the Government of Saskatchewan. Those organizations are solely responsible for the operation and information (including the right to display such information) found on their respective websites. The linking to or from this site does not imply on the part of the Government of Saskatchewan any endorsement or guarantee of any of the organizations or information (including the right to display such information) found on their respective websites.
Limitation of Liabilities Disclaimer
The information found on the Asbestos Registry is for informational purposes only, and may only be used on the strict understanding that neither the Province nor its ministers, employees, or agents, nor any of the public agencies which voluntarily post information, shall be liable to any persons for any loss or damage of any nature, whether arising out of negligence or otherwise, which may be occasioned as a result of the use of information provided on the Registry, or information provided at any other website that can be accessed from this website.
The information in the Asbestos Registry is for public, informational purposes only, and does not in any manner supersede or derogate from The Workers' Compensation Act, 1979 and The Saskatchewan Employment Act.