Workplace Exposure Program
For employers whose workers use, handle or store a designated substance: collision and auto body shops, countertop fabricators, foundries, concrete products, metal recyclers, plastics and resin plants, labs and hospital sterilization.
What O. Reg. 490/09 asks of employers
- A written exposure assessment, made with your joint health and safety committee, with a copy to each member. Redo it after any change that could significantly affect exposure.
- Where workers' health may be affected, a written control program: engineering controls, work and hygiene practices, monitoring, records and training.
- Keep exposure under the occupational exposure limit.
- Air monitoring by or under a qualified industrial hygienist, with results posted for 14 days, shared with the JHSC and kept for 5 years.
- Medical surveillance for asbestos, benzene, coke oven emissions, isocyanates, lead, mercury and silica.
- Protect other employers' workers at your site.
The regulation doesn't apply on construction projects, where Regulation 833 and the building duties govern.
Who does the monitoring
Exposure monitoring is done by or under our qualified occupational hygienist. Medical surveillance is done by your physician; we coordinate schedules and exposure records.
What inspectors found
The Ministry's 2024–25 campaign on chemical exposure visited 131 workplaces and issued 144 orders and requirements. Inspectors required air monitoring where exposure data was missing and found respiratory protection programs the most common gap.
Compare the tiers
Founding clients: the first five clients in each program get 15% off their monthly fee in exchange for a short case study.
| Monthly, CAD before HST | Shop$299 a month | Plant$890 a month | Site Partner$2,190 a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fits | One workplace, one process (a paint booth, a cutting line) | One site, up to 3 substances or 50 exposed workers | Several processes or sites |
| Annual assessment review with the JHSC and control program update | Yes | Yes, plus a mid-year walk-through | Yes, plus quarterly reviews |
| Exposure monitoring days | 1 a year | 3 a year | 8 a year |
| Change-of-process reviews | As needed, at member rate | 8 a year | Unlimited |
| Worker and supervisor training | 1 session a year | 2 sessions a year | 4 sessions a year |
| Results posting, JHSC copies, 5-year monitoring records | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Medical surveillance coordination with your physician | Records only | Yes | Yes |
| Inspector and JHSC support | Yes | Yes | Yes, attends JHSC quarterly |
| Discount on project work | 10% | 15% | 20% |
What Shop replaces
| Bought one at a time | List price |
|---|---|
| Assessment review and control program update | $900 |
| 1 exposure monitoring day | $1,400 |
| 1 training session | $750 |
| Records and inspector support | $600 |
| The same year à la carte | $3,650 |
| The same year in the program | $3,588 |
Plant and Site Partner save 4% and 6% on their à la carte years of $11,100 and $28,000.
New clients start with a baseline assessment and written control program, bought once or spread over the first year.
How it starts
Exposure gap audit
A short paid review of your assessment, control program and monitoring records. The fee is credited if you join.
Baseline and register
We assess the building or workplace once, room by room, and set up the live register you'll keep using.
Monthly coverage
Reassessments, checks and reviews happen on schedule, with guaranteed response when something goes wrong.
Included in every program
- 12-month agreement that renews automatically, with a live online register for every building or workplace that you can show an inspector or a contractor on a phone.
- Lab analysis is included in every price. Results come back within 1 week of the site visit, and if work can't wait we leave written interim instructions on site the same day.
- Included checks and reviews roll over within the contract year. Extra work is billed at your member rate.
- No baseline assessment yet? We do it first, or spread its cost over your first 12 months.
- We never remove or abate anything and take no referral fees, so no result is shaped by someone with a stake in the job.
Do you have a written exposure assessment?
The Obligation Check tells you in two minutes whether O. Reg. 490/09 applies and which tier fits.