How Do You Test for Asbestos?
A common question we receive from our clients is “How do you test for asbestos?” While there are many ways you can test for asbestos including at home testing, it is always recommended that you utilize professional licensed environmental testing companies like Insight Environmental. Professional testing companies use many methods include bulk, air, and dust sampling.
The health effects of asbestos exposure are serious. If you have been exposed to asbestos containing material or asbestos fibers in your home or business, you will need asbestos testing, asbestos removal, asbestos abatement, or asbestos remediation as soon as possible to avoid asbestos exposure, asbestos poisoning, and asbestos related disease.
Whether you know it or not, you may have encountered the dangers of asbestos in your home or business, and you may not know how much trouble this material can actually cause. Asbestos exposure can cause many health issues, including asbestos poisoning.
Asbestos testing is crucial if your structure was built in the 1960’s or 1970’s, and hiring a trained asbestos testing service like Insight Environmental to determine if your home or business has any dangers of asbestos containing material that cause those asbestos related diseases like mesothelioma. Insight Environmental’s professional asbestos inspectors create asbestos abatement action plans which will get you on the road to being asbestos free and protecting the health of your family and employees.
Asbestos Exposure Troubles
The health effects of asbestos exposure are very real and very serious, and that is why asbestos testing is so important. Asbestos fibers create numerous symptoms of asbestos exposure, and the longer you’re exposed to asbestos, the more health issues become a possibility. Insight Environmental provides expert asbestos testing for homers and businesses in California, which is a must if you want to avoid problems associated with asbestos exposure, including shortness of breath, coughing, and even permanent lung damage, mesothelioma, and lung cancer. If Insight Environmental’s asbestos tests find asbestos, we will create an asbestos abatement plan to fix the situation in your home or business and protect your family members/employees.
Bulk Sampling
Bulk sampling for asbestos refers to cutting out a piece of the contaminated material. This method is used when someone is concerned about a property during a property sale or during a renovation. Insight’s asbestos inspector will carefully collect a sample around the size of a quarter that has been moisturized to prevent dust particles form entering the air. The sample material is placed into a zip- bag and labeled for the testing lab. The rest of the surface can be sealed to prevent the release of fibers into the air. Afterwards, the sample is sent to an accredited lab for testing.
The lab will then test the material to determine the amount of contamination. Materials containing more than 1% are called “asbestos containing materials”.
Air Sampling
A second method of testing asbestos is taking air samples. Air testing is typically performed when a asbestos-containing material has been disturbed or right after an asbestos job so we can be sure that fibers were not released into the air during removal. The process is done by pumping air through a filter to collect the asbestos fibers. These tests usually run for 2 hours to achieve a total volume of up to 1,200 liters of air. Multiple air samples may be collected depending on the size of the project.
Dust Sampling
Another method we will use to test for asbestos is sampling the dust particles. This method is used to see if there was a previous release of asbestos fibers in the area. Keep in mind, asbestos particles can remain airborne for long periods of time then eventually settle into dust in the area.
Insight Environmental samples the suspected contaminated dust by using a method called TEM Microvac. Once collected and analyzed, we can use industry guidelines to observe if the number of asbestos fibers present are background, elevated, or highly elevated levels.
With so many different methods to test for asbestos and the hazardous nature of the material, it is important to use a trusted testing company like Insight Environmental. If you have a concern about asbestos in your home or business, Insight Environmental has the experience, licenses and professional staff to help you with your issues.
We understand the gravity of the situation where asbestos is concerned, and our asbestos inspectors will deliver quality asbestos testing. Asbestos testing will save you time, money, and health down the road, so call Insight Environmental today! We are fully licensed and insured, If you are interested in testing, feel free to reach out us at 805-898-1123.
