General Types of Asbestos Testing
There are a variety of reasons why someone may choose to test their home or building for asbestos. One of these is if you have an older home. Asbestos use in construction generally stopped around 1980, following a lot of use throughout the twentieth century, especially in the 1970s.
To remove the dangerous substance, professionals have to run tests to detect it. Don't get tempted by the do-it-yourself tests. Without proper training and equipment, asbestos testing can be dangerous, disturbing the mineral more than necessary.
People used asbestos in a variety of places, but not everywhere. A few of these places are floor tiles, linoleums, acoustic ceiling spray, insulation, and roofing. There are many other places asbestos lurks, too.
If you suspect asbestos in your home, call an asbestos specialist. The specialist can identify where the mineral may be. He or she can then take samples, put them in an appropriately sealed container, and send the samples to a lab.
People often test for asbestos with air testing. While air testing does not locate asbestos, some types of air testing can identify its presence.
A common choice for air asbestos tests is Phase Contrast Microscopy (PCM). Phase Contrast Microscopy measures fiber concentrations, which can indicate if asbestos is present. PCM is both faster and cheaper than many other asbestos-testing methods but can not positively identify asbestos. Instead, it gives an overall measure of types of fibers in a particular air sample.
When the fibers are too small for PCM to identify, then Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) is used instead. TEM is the most advanced way to identify airborne asbestos fibers. TEM is the most used test for asbestos in the air because it can identify particles in the air, even if they are remarkably small.
Building material samples can find asbestos' location. In this type of test, the specialist takes samples from wherever asbestos is suspected to be. After the specialist has sent the samples to the lab, the lab may use different methods to find asbestos. The most common method is Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM). PLM uses polarized light to find properties that are specific to certain fibers. Then, asbestos can be identified. PLM can even identify the different types of asbestos. PLM also shows what percentage of asbestos there is in a given material.
Another type of test is soil and water testing. Asbestos can end up in soil from being illegally dumped there. Soil tests can be very helpful to use in environmental investigations, to find if illegal dumping of asbestos has occurred. Asbestos may get into water with asbestos pipes, industrial waste, and roofing. For example, if the roof tiles of a home or building contain asbestos, the water coming from the drain pipes will have asbestos in it. While it can be helpful to know of the presence of asbestos in water, and it is clear that asbestos is very harmful when dry and inhaled, there is very little evidence to show that wet asbestos causes harm when ingested. Usually, soil tests are analyzed using PLM, but they can also be analyzed with TEM. Water samples are typically analyzed in the same way.
There are a variety of reasons why someone may choose to test their home or building for asbestos. One of these is if you have an older home. Asbestos use in construction generally stopped around 1980, following a lot of use throughout the twentieth century, especially in the 1970s.
To remove the dangerous substance, professionals have to run tests to detect it. Don't get tempted by the do-it-yourself tests. Without proper training and equipment, asbestos testing can be dangerous, disturbing the mineral more than necessary.
People used asbestos in a variety of places, but not everywhere. A few of these places are floor tiles, linoleums, acoustic ceiling spray, insulation, and roofing. There are many other places asbestos lurks, too.
If you suspect asbestos in your home, call an asbestos specialist. The specialist can identify where the mineral may be. He or she can then take samples, put them in an appropriately sealed container, and send the samples to a lab.
People often test for asbestos with air testing. While air testing does not locate asbestos, some types of air testing can identify its presence.
A common choice for air asbestos tests is Phase Contrast Microscopy (PCM). Phase Contrast Microscopy measures fiber concentrations, which can indicate if asbestos is present. PCM is both faster and cheaper than many other asbestos-testing methods but can not positively identify asbestos. Instead, it gives an overall measure of types of fibers in a particular air sample.
When the fibers are too small for PCM to identify, then Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) is used instead. TEM is the most advanced way to identify airborne asbestos fibers. TEM is the most used test for asbestos in the air because it can identify particles in the air, even if they are remarkably small.
Building material samples can find asbestos' location. In this type of test, the specialist takes samples from wherever asbestos is suspected to be. After the specialist has sent the samples to the lab, the lab may use different methods to find asbestos. The most common method is Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM). PLM uses polarized light to find properties that are specific to certain fibers. Then, asbestos can be identified. PLM can even identify the different types of asbestos. PLM also shows what percentage of asbestos there is in a given material.
Another type of test is soil and water testing. Asbestos can end up in soil from being illegally dumped there. Soil tests can be very helpful to use in environmental investigations, to find if illegal dumping of asbestos has occurred. Asbestos may get into water with asbestos pipes, industrial waste, and roofing. For example, if the roof tiles of a home or building contain asbestos, the water coming from the drain pipes will have asbestos in it. While it can be helpful to know of the presence of asbestos in water, and it is clear that asbestos is very harmful when dry and inhaled, there is very little evidence to show that wet asbestos causes harm when ingested. Usually, soil tests are analyzed using PLM, but they can also be analyzed with TEM. Water samples are typically analyzed in the same way.
