EP 41 · 2023-02-06 · 53:28
Asbestos, Radon & Environmental Site Assessments in Atlantic Canada — ALL-TECH Environmental Services (30 Years)
Three ALL-TECH veterans demystify 30 years of environmental consulting across Atlantic Canada — asbestos, radon, silica, site assessments, and why skipping hazmat due diligence costs contractors multiples on retrofit budgets.
LK
⟶ The story, written up — a sharp read with every fact on the record. Or skip straight to the moments that matter, as clips.
// CHAPTERS — TAP TO JUMP THE PLAYER
0:00Sponsor intro — Pizant Building Products & Procore — Pre-roll sponsor reads for Pizant Building Products (58 years, 8 NS/NB locations) and Procore Technologies, announcing a new co-branded partnership for 2023 episodes.0:42Introductions and 30-year founding story — Dan introduces the three ALL-TECH guests and their geographic coverage. Larry (PEI, 28 yrs), Dwayne (Cape Breton, 11 yrs), and Brian (NB, 29 yrs) sketch their career origins. Brian recounts how founder Terry Smith's persistent entrepreneurial vision pulled the team together starting in 1995, driven by a desire to deliver more personal, client-first service.4:55Culture and retention — what 30 years looks like inside — The group reflects on ALL-TECH's culture: like-minded hiring, people-first mentality, genuine friendship across branches. Dan describes visiting the office and sensing an authentic culture that 'doesn't happen by accident.' Terry Smith's decision to let field staff represent the company on the podcast is cited as a mark of his character.9:25Services on new builds — LEED testing, dust/noise monitoring, fire-proofing — Dwayne explains ALL-TECH's new-construction services: dust and noise monitoring during active builds, LEED indoor air quality testing (VOC off-gassing, ventilation verification), and density testing for intumescent fireproofing sprays. Pile-driving noise regulation and municipal guidelines are also covered.14:00Healthcare work and radon education — Discussion of hospital infection-control protocols (negative-pressure environments, contractor training), PEI's heavy reliance on QEH renovations, and Cape Breton's mix of commercial and residential work. Dwayne explains radon: the uranium-decay gas that is the second leading cause of lung cancer in Canada, entering through basement cracks, and why tight building envelopes matter.17:55Hazardous materials deep-dive — asbestos, lead, PCBs, silica — The team covers the rule of thumb (buildings 1930–1985 almost certainly contain asbestos), PCBs in lamp ballasts and oil transformers, hexavalent chrome from stainless welding, and silica dust from concrete cutting. Wet-cut controls for silica and the key distinction that hazmat is dangerous when disturbed, not merely present, are highlighted.24:30Air quality investigations and the homeowner question — How ALL-TECH approaches air-quality requests: an investigative/CSI process using infrared cameras, moisture meters, and targeted sampling programs rather than 'test everything.' The team explains that homeowner requests for 'air quality checks' require scoping before sampling — symptoms, visible signs, and budget all guide the test suite.30:20The true cost of skipping hazmat assessment on retrofits — Dan narrates a Halifax hotel retrofit that turned a bathroom-renovation scope into a multi-year, multi-million-dollar rebuild because asbestos and mold were discovered room by room after work began. The group explains how a proper pre-construction assessment — sampling all materials systematically before design — produces consistent bid documents, eliminates change-order surprises, and keeps schedules intact.36:10Regional markets — NB, PEI, Cape Breton — and contractor relationships — Brian on New Brunswick: Moncton booming, Fredericton and Saint John growing; Irving relationship anchors the Saint John office. Larry on PEI: heavy government and pharmaceutical work (biovector HEPA/biosafety cabinet certification). Discussion of how GCs call ALL-TECH when they hit unexpected materials during excavation or renovation.42:50Phase 1/2/3 site assessments and financial-institution pressure — Dwayne explains the phase-assessment framework: Phase 1 (historical review and site visit), Phase 2 (confirm contamination), Phase 3 (delineate scope). Banks are increasingly requiring Phase 1/2 before financing property acquisitions, having learned that inheriting contaminated land is a balance-sheet risk.47:10Notable projects — Irving Whale, Halifax Airport, Sydney Tar Ponds — Larry recalls the Irving Whale raising in Halifax Harbour and ALL-TECH managing asbestos removal from the ship's interior. Larry and Dwayne discuss the three-year Halifax Airport asbestos remediation (SFRM throughout the complex). Dwayne describes the Sydney Tar Ponds remediation: ALL-TECH provided perimeter air-monitoring for fugitive emissions (dust, odors, VOCs) throughout the multi-contractor cleanup.50:10Training services and wrap-up — Brian notes ALL-TECH provides in-house training courses for contractors and building maintenance professionals. Larry summarizes the company's breadth: 'anything occupational health, safety, and environmental.' Dan closes by noting Terry Smith's character in sending field staff rather than management to represent the company.
// THE INTRO
Host Daniel Arsenault sits down with Larry Koughan (Sr. Environmental Consultant, PEI Branch Manager), Dwayne Timmons (Environmental Engineer, Cape Breton), and Brian Fraser (Sr. Environmental Consultant, NB Branch Manager) to mark ALL-TECH Environmental Services Ltd.'s 30th anniversary. The conversation covers the full breadth of ALL-TECH's services — hazardous materials identification (asbestos, lead, PCBs, mercury, silica, radon), LEED indoor air quality testing, Phase 1/2/3 environmental site assessments, healthcare infection-control protocols, industrial hygiene worker sampling, and post-hurricane insurance documentation. Grounded in real Atlantic Canada projects (Halifax Airport asbestos remediation, the Sydney Tar Ponds, Irving Irving operations in Saint John, the QEH in Charlottetown), the trio make a compelling case that environmental consulting is a critical but chronically undervalued upstream step in construction planning — and that skipping it converts modest renovation budgets into multimillion-dollar surprises.
// THE LESSONS
See all 12 lessons ▸Buildings constructed between 1930 and the mid-to-late 1980s are almost certain to contain asbestos — treat it as a baseline assumption, not a variable.
“if there's a building or home built between 1930 and 19 85 mid 80s to late 80s you're going to it's almost guaranteed there's going to be asbestos in it”
Hazardous materials (asbestos, mold, silica) become dangerous when disturbed, not merely when present — contractors who understand the disturbance threshold make better abatement decisions.
“it's not until you begin disturbing them cutting grinding creating a dust where it becomes the true Hazard”
Skipping a proper pre-construction hazmat assessment on a retrofit converts a modest renovation scope into a change-order spiral that can multiply cost and schedule by 3-4x.
“the owner ends up spending a lot more three times as much four times as much money the contrary takes another year”
Front-loading environmental assessment with the architect — before design is locked — produces comparable bid documents and eliminates the wild spread in tender prices caused by unknown hazmat scope.
“everybody's comparing apples with apples it's not like because if you don't provide that information sometimes you'll see these really crazy numbers”
Radon, the second leading cause of lung cancer in Canada, is controlled by building envelope tightness and geology — Atlantic Canada contractors should treat radon-resistant construction as standard practice, not optional.
“Health Canada has stated that it's the second leading cause of London that's a lot of people don't know that”
Environmental site assessments (Phase 1/2/3) are increasingly required by lenders before financing property acquisitions — GCs and developers who build these into due diligence budgets protect their financing.
“Banks and financial institutions starting to push that as well because that's a big liability on their end”
For GCs hitting unexpected materials during excavation or renovation, having a pre-existing relationship with an environmental consultant means a same-day call translates into immediate guidance — not a project stop.
“they'll stop what they're doing give us a call we'll go in and do some testing right for them give them an in-depth report”
Wet-cut concrete and masonry controls crystalline silica dust at the source — labour regulations across Atlantic Canada are converging on the same silica handling rules as Nova Scotia, making wet-cutting standard practice.
“that's why you see a lot of cutting being done wet Cuts so you get a slurry if you do dry on it or grind it somehow you're running into some issues”
Founding a professional-services firm around a client-first, 'always take the phone call' ethos drives retention of both long-tenured staff and clients — ALL-TECH's 30-year tenure with the same senior team is evidence.
“we were always like a phone call away or down the road we'd always take phone call try to help client get you know situation”
Industrial hygiene worker sampling — pumps on workers during welding, stainless grinding, or chemical processes — is an employer obligation that is frequently overlooked by contractors until a complaint or inspection forces action.
“we do actually personal sampling on the workers book sampling pumps on we'll check for hazardous contaminants coming off the process”
Hurricane-damage remediation (e.g., post-Fiona) generates immediate demand for environmental documentation because insurers and remediation contractors will not proceed without an independent assessment and hazmat clearance on file.
“no one's going to move on anything until you guys show up do your testing have everything documented”
Environmental consulting for large institutional clients (pharmaceutical cleanrooms, hospital labs) becomes a recurring weekly revenue stream through ongoing HEPA filter certification and biosafety cabinet testing — a retainer model inside a project-driven industry.
“it's like an ongoing thing like a weekly thing we're going and because they have stuff and we're there to respond like on a daily basis”
// CLIPS FROM THIS EPISODE
Story · 2:52
“Terry loves telling this story about him hiring me one day”
Story · 5:33
“Terry always had this idea and I remember him talking to me about it”
Story · 6:49
“Well we'd work for other companies and we'd seen how it was being done”
Framework · 17:45
“Tell us what radon is for our listeners that wouldn't have any idea”
Framework · 19:08
“If it's a public tender and it's a big retrofit, are you guys looking at that building”
Framework · 21:11
“So if you're welding, there's gases and everything being used”
Framework · 23:09
“One of the other big ones around here I guess is silica”
Framework · 25:34
“Just because you have that hazardous material in your home doesn't mean you may be exposed”
Story · 28:42
“I won't mention the name of the building but you know I was involved in a project years ago”
Hot take · 32:29
“If a hotel owner is listening right now and he's got a situation like that”
Framework · 30:37
“What would that property assessment look like”
Story · 43:14
“They raised the Irving whale here in Halifax, pulled it up to the harbor”
Story · 45:59
“When I first came out of university that's where I actually started my career”
Framework · 47:46
“Maybe just for your listeners, the phase approaches — phase one, phase two, phase three”
All 12 lessons from this episode, on one page.
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// FEATURED BUSINESSES
ALL-TECH Environmental Services Limited
Atlantic Canadian-owned environmental consulting and occupational health & safety firm providing hazar…
Procore Technologies, Inc.
Procore is a publicly traded (NYSE: PCOR) cloud construction-management software company whose all-in-…
Payzant Building Products Ltd.
Family-owned, multi-generational Atlantic Canada building-materials and home-improvement retailer oper…
Inflector Environmental Services
A Canadian environmental contractor specializing in hazardous materials abatement (asbestos, lead, mou…
// FACT-CHECKED ✓ web-verified, with sources
// COMPANIES & ORGS ✓ verified
ALL-TECH Environmental Services Limited ▸Procore Technologies, Inc. ▸Payzant Building Products Ltd. ▸Inflector Environmental Services ▸Terry SmithIrving Whale salvage and post-recovery remediation (Halifax, NS)Sydney Tar Ponds and Coke Ovens Sites Remediation Project
// PROJECTS NAMED
Irving Whale salvage and post-recovery remediation (Halifax, NS)Halifax Stanfield International Airport asbestos remediationSydney Tar Ponds and Coke Ovens Sites Remediation ProjectQueen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) PEI renovationsMarconi Campus Sydney chlorine residual testing
SOURCE: podscope · public episode data · CmEbj7y6174