ASBESTOS ABATEMENT FAQ

Breath Easier.

Asbestos removal from your home or business property requires a precise and careful abatement process. Our First Response teams are currently only able to offer these services to our insurance claims and no longer offer any private sampling.

We understand this process can be difficult to navigate on your own. Please read below on how to proceed with your own testing:

Some helpful instructions for taking samples for asbestos testing can be found at the links below:

https://www.pinchin.com/markets/homeowners/how-to-take-asbestos-material-sample/209

https://asbestoslabs.ca/asbestos-testing-method/asbestos-sampling-guide/

The laboratory we recommend for testing is Epoch Analytical. Here is a link to their website: https://www.ealabs.ca/

They can provide you with a Chain of Custody form that will need to accompany your sample.

Make sure your sample is double-bagged (Ziploc sandwich bags are fine) and that a description of the sample is written on the outside of one of the bags (matching the description you give on the form). When taking a drywall sample, make sure you include some of the joint compound - in a corner, or anywhere there’s a seam in the drywall - since this is where the asbestos may be found.

Please note that the Sechelt landfill is not accepting any reports that have a postive sample listed (even if the material you would like to disposed of came back negative). If you’re anticipating that one of the materials you’re testing may come back positive, we recommend filling out a separate Chain of Custody form for each sample and double bagging them separately, so that you’ll get the results back on two separate reports. They can still be mailed in the same envelope.