Testing For Asbestos

If you suspect that asbestos is present in your home or building, you will need to have professional testing performed in order to confirm such suspicions. Asbestos fibers are invisible to the unaided eye; there is no way to know if they are present by simply examining an area.

Where Asbestos May Exist In Your Home

  • Electrical Appliances, including hair dryers, ironing boards, toasters, dryers, and gas-fired fireplaces
  • Walls, Floors and Ceilings: textured paints, patching and joint compounds, floor tiles, and window putty, acoustic tiles
  • Plumbing and Heating Ducts: pipe insulation and taping on return seams as well as inside vent registers and furnace door gaskets.
  • Auto Parts: brake pads, linings and clutch assembly components.
  • Sprayed-on Fireproof Insulation
  • Construction Materials: roof shingles, cement roofing and felt (1).

Testing For Asbestos

Trained responders are able to inspect an area, take samples and determine the concentration of asbestos fibers by means of a "wipe." This consists of pressing a piece of adhesive tape against a suspect surface and testing it (2).

Determining how concentrated asbestos fibers may be in the environment of a room or building requires specialized equipment; air is drawn through a filter, which is then analyzed using either phase contrast microscopy (PCM) or transmission electron microscopy (TCM). PCM is a method used in laboratories to enhance the visibility of microscopic, low-contrast particles. It is a relatively quick and inexpensive way to test for the presence of fibrous material in the environment, but cannot distinguish between asbestos fibers and other types. This may be sufficient however if the presence of asbestos-containing materials (ACM) has been confirmed by other means, such as a wipe.

TCM is more accurate, and since it requires greater training, skill and time, it is correspondingly more expensive. TCM can however identify asbestos fibers specifically.

Polarized light microscopy (PLM) is used to test for asbestos in bulk materials by analyzing a 1-2 gram sample. It can be used to identify mineral types, but cannot differentiate between different kinds (3).

Hire Professionals

This cannot be overemphasized: unless you have had NIOSH-approved training in the proper handling of asbestos, do not attempt to take samples yourself. Contact the regional office of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a list of reputable labs and abatement services in your area.

It is also important to let the lab know in the beginning that, should the results come back positive, you will not hire them for the actual removal. There is too great a potential for conflict of interest.  You should also ask lab personnel who they would recommend to undertake asbestos abatement. One EPA inspector interviewed by investigative journalist Michael Bowker said "The lab people know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. And there are bad guys. Many companies don’t know asbestos from a cup of coffee." (4).

Do not take chances with your health – hire trained professionals and due your due diligence by investigating their credentials and records with your local pollution control board, the Better Business Bureau and your county court (6).

Notes

  • Bowker, Michael. Deadly Deception, pp. 329-330
  • Atlantic County Division of Public Health. "Question and Answers About Asbestos."
  • University of Minnesota Environmental & Occupational Health. "Asbestos: Monitoring Asbestos In The Environment."
  • Bowker, p. 326
  • Bowker, p. 327

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