Asbestos Inspection & Sampling

What is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a mineral fiber that was historically used due to its resistance to heat and corrosion and durability. Over time, it was determined that exposure to asbestos at any level was harmful to human health, causing mesothelioma and other types of lung cancer. Asbestos removal can be expensive, so below you’ll find tips on how to prevent exposure and reduce your risk of an asbestos-related illness.

How was Asbestos Used?

Asbestos was previously used in construction materials, brake pads, floor tiles, ceiling tiles, and various other building materials. While the chemicals have since been banned in the USA, it is still present in most buildings built prior to the 1970’s. There are regulations regarding its presence and management (especially during construction), but asbestos exposure can occur through even seemingly harmless interactions with products that contain it. Recent events, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issuing a report on a spike in asbestos related deaths among construction workers, shows that additional caution is warranted when interacting with products that may contain asbestos.

Is Asbestos Screening Required?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have established requirements concerning asbestos-related inspections. Abatement crews, contractors and inspectors all have to follow proper work practices when handling asbestos in their work. Critical is an inspection of the area that is to be worked, including conducting airborne sampling and locating areas that may have asbestos and are concealing it. OSHA requires that a sample be taken and submitted for analysis if it is suspected that asbestos may be present in more than five percent of any workplace air sample. EPA has provisions for periodic monitoring for K-12 schools under such regulations as Asbestos Removal or Disposal in Schools .

Asbestos Sampling Rules

The EPA and other regulatory agencies have developed a mandatory protocol for the asbestos assessment of buildings involving materials that are different types, colors, and sizes. We do an asbestos inventory of each homogeneous group of suspect asbestos containing material. We then collect separate sets of samples from each type of material or perform other sampling, depending on the existing guidelines.