What Is Asbestos?
Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that has been used for centuries due to its unique properties. The term “asbestos” refers to six regulated, naturally occurring fibrous silicate minerals: chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, anthophyllite, tremolite, and actinolite.
Asbestos is made up of long, thin fibers that are incredibly strong, flexible, and resistant to heat, fire, and chemicals. These qualities made asbestos an ideal material for insulation, fireproofing, and soundproofing in buildings, ships, and other structures. It was also used in a wide range of products like cement, plastics, flooring, paper, textiles and even automotive parts like brakes and clutches.
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How Does Asbestos Exposure Occur?
When asbestos-containing materials are disturbed during activities such as product use, building or home maintenance, repair, demolition work, and remodeling, microscopic fibers may be released into the air. Damaging or disturbing these materials causes particles and fibers to be released into the air. When asbestos fibers become airborne, they can be inhaled by individuals in the vicinity, posing a health risk.
How Asbestos Is Identified
Asbestos cannot be identified visually. Testing for the presence or contamination is the only way to confirm the presence of asbestos. Pace® offers direct access to our asbestos subject matter experts! If you suspect asbestos
How is Asbestos Regulated?
Asbestos regulation in the United States is a multifaceted process that includes the involvement of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). The EPA is primarily concerned with environmental protection, while OSHA focuses on ensuring safety in the workplace. Additionally, individual states may implement their own regulations, which are often more stringent. States typically oversee and enforce federal regulations such as AHERA (Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act) and NESHAP, and they may also opt to enforce OSHA standards related to worker safety.
On-Demand Webinar: Asbestos in settled dust
Asbestos Containing Materials (ACM) were widely used in US building materials and consumer products. Asbestos debris and dust can be released from ACMs through disturbance and aging, then re-entrained into indoor air, causing exposure.
WHO WE SERVE
Building renovation and demolition can easily disturb known and unknown asbestos-containing materials (ACMs). Learn how Pace ® can help.
When asbestos is suspected, consultants are often called on to perform inspections, prepare and oversee abatement and remediation planning and perform clearance testing.
As scientists and engineers committed to protecting the health and safety of people in the workplace and the community asbestos testing and exposure assessments may be part of their primary responsibilities.
Once asbestos is identified, qualified abatement contractors can remove the asbestos, or if removal is impossible or impracticable, mitigate it so that it cannot cause harm to anyone who lives or works in the building.
Real estate sellers, landlords, or property managers may face litigation if they fail to reveal the presence of asbestos materials to buyers or tenants.
If you have a home that was built prior to 1980, there is a good chance that you have parts or materials that contain asbestos. Many home construction materials once contained asbestos, and exposure to asbestos fibers could increase the likelihood of lung disease.
Why Select Pace®
The largest American-owned environmental lab in North America, Pace® has a well-established reputation for delivering fast, reliable analytical services to a wide range of customers, including industrial hygienists, environmental and engineering consultants, construction and real estate industries, abatement contractors and homeowners. By leveraging our expertise, advanced analytical techniques, and cutting-edge instrumentation, we ensure that the data generated is accurate, reliable, and defensible.
Our NIST-NVLAP accredited asbestos laboratories can provide isolation and identification of the six regulated asbestos forms in bulk materials and soils including:
- Chrysotile (white)
- Amosite (brown)
- Crocidolite (blue)
- Fibrous Anthophyllite
- Fibrous Tremolite
- Fibrous Actinolite
Pace also provides advanced asbestos testing for non-regulated amphiboles (NRAs), natural occurrences of asbestos (NOAs) and asbestiform talc in consumer products such as cosmetic products.
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Additional Resources
Need to find a lab that can handle your unique requirements?
Contact us directly or download our list of environmental certifications across our network.
Info Sheet: Asbestos Testing
On-Demand Webinar: Asbestos in Settled Dust