Can a floor coating trigger allergies in an Orleans office?

Whether a floor coating product can cause a reaction depends on the product: some are classed as skin or respiratory sensitisers on their safety data sheets, and the people responsible for the workspace have legal obligations before, during and after the work.

Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, an employer whose workers may be exposed to a product must make a copy of the safety data sheet readily available to those workers (OHSA s.38(1.1)). Ask the contractor for the SDS for every product they plan to use before work begins. Section 2 of the SDS lists hazard classifications, including whether a product is classified as a skin sensitiser or a respiratory sensitiser. Section 9 gives the flash point, which tells you whether the product is a flammable liquid and whether open flames, pilot lights or sparking equipment must be kept away from the work area under the Ontario Fire Code (O. Reg. 213/07, 4.1.5.2).

Floor coating in an occupied building is likely construction work under OHSA, where the employer and the constructor each carry duties.

For the people working in the office during or after coating:

• Get the SDS for each product before work starts and read Section 2.
• Plan ventilation and phasing so that office staff are not present while products are being applied and while the floor is curing; the data sheet for the specific product sets the times.
• Ask the contractor what ventilation they will provide during application.

Ottawa Commercial Epoxy is a matching service; contractors listed in the Ottawa Construction Network directory can reply to a request submitted through the form on this page.

Comparing quotes, look at the product names with their data sheets and SDSs, the prep method and the surface profile the contractor is targeting, whether a moisture test is included and what happens if the slab fails it, the number of coats or the thickness called out in the data sheet, whether cove base is included and at what linear footage, what anti-slip texture if any is broadcast, and the closure window the contractor is committing to based on the data sheet rather than a general estimate.