IRSST - Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail

CQ Vrac
Determining the percentage of asbestos in bulk materials

IRSST's service-provider recognition program

In Québec, fibres in  bulk samples or in sedimented dusts are characterized using IRSST method 244 – Caractérisation des fibres dans les poussières déposées ou dans les matériaux en vrac (characterization of fibres in deposited dusts or in bulk materials).

Section 69.5 of the Regulation respecting occupational health and safety (ROHS) states that samples must be analyzed using one of the methods specified in the Sampling Guide for Air Contaminants in the Workplace, published by the Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail, or a method by which an equivalent precision can be obtained. The most recent updates for the contaminant asbestos are available in the Substance Records from the Workplace Air Contaminants Sampling Guide.

Compliance of analytical reports with the regulation

In Québec, some provisions of the ROHS (Section 62 and Division IX.I) and of the Safety Code for the construction industry (SCCI, Section 3.23) apply when the asbestos concentration in materials or products is at least 0.1%.

The standard is different in the other Canadian provinces and in the American states. The client is responsible for verifying the range of concentrations that can be reported in an analytical report issued by a service provider. The reported results must allow the asbestos concentration in the material or product to be determined, in accordance with the standard in force in Québec, whether they are written as a percentage (%) or in words (ex.: result = trace).

To obtain additional information on the regulatory requirements regarding the analysis and the compliance of an analytical report issued by a laboratory, contact a regional office of the Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST).

Contact Us

Any inquiries regarding this program can be sent to  or:

  • Marie-Claude Barrette

    • Assistant Director of Operations
      Laboratory Division
      Phone : 514 288-1551 ext. 265
      Fax : 514 288-9632
  • Andrée-Anne Banville

    • Phone : 514 288-1551 ext. 400
      Fax : 514 288-9632