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Contractor management

SFU is dedicated to maintaining a safe and healthy environment for everyone on campus, including contractors. The sections below outline SFU's contractor safety management framework and the specific requirements for high-risk work activities. All contractors are required to thoroughly review and understand the information provided on this webpage.

Lead

Contractors working with lead

Before you start

Prior to impacting any painted or coated building material on SFU campuses, the paint or coating needs to be assessed for the presence of Lead.

Some paints and coatings may already be assessed and SFU will have records of this, which can reduce or eliminate the requirement for an assessment report.  For more information, email EHS at hazmat_work@sfu.ca along with a copy of your scope of work.

If the paints and coatings are not assessed or only portions of them are, then SFU will retain a 3rd party qualified consultant to assess all paints and coatings that will be impacted as a part of your scope of work.  This can be done by requesting it through the SFU Project Manager.

Assessment report and submittals

When you have the assessment report and are ready to begin work, ensure that the following checks have been made prior to beginning the work:

  1. The assessment report accurately reflects your scope of work, and every paint and coating is accounted for within the report.

    If this is not true, and the consultant missed a paint or coating, there is an uncommon or concealed paint or coating discovered or the scope of work has changed, then a reassessment of the paints and coatings must be conducted prior to impacting them.

  2. If there are Lead-based paints and coatings identified, a WorkSafe BC Notice of Project (NOP), along with site-specific risk assessment(s) and safe work procedure(s) for each type of Lead-based paint and coating and their associated substrate is required.  Ensure these requirements are met and that EHS and the Project Manager have had a full 48 hours (only business days, Monday - Friday) to review these prior to starting work.

Small scope of work

If the work is limited and small in scope (example: anchoring a TV on the wall), is an assessment report still required?

Yes, this still requires the materials to be assessed.  Depending on the paint or coating applied, it could contain Lead.  Even though the size of the work and the impact to the materials may be relatively small, it still requires assessment so that adequate controls may be implemented to limit the risk of exposure.

Disposal

If lead-based paints and coatings are removed as part of your scope of work, check the assessment report to see if a TCLP (Leachate) test was conducted on the materials.  If it was conducted it will tell you whether the materials can be disposed of as regular waste or as hazardous waste.  If no test was conducted, contact your SFU Project Manager to determine whether the waste should be assumed to be hazardous waste, or if it should be tested prior to disposal.

Waste that must be disposed of as hazardous waste must be brought to a recognized landfill that is approved to accept hazardous waste.

A waste manifest must be used for transporting any quantity in excess of 5 kg. Hazardous waste shipments requiring the use of a hazardous waste manifest must be transported by a transporter licensed by the Ministry of Environment.