| Asbestos-airborne fiber count (NIOSH 7400) |
| The
analysis includes testing of air sample for asbestos and other fibers
by PCM. It is used primarily for estimating asbestos concentrations in
air. It is used to show compliance with limits set by NIOSH, OSHA, and
other regulatory agencies. The method does not differentiate between
asbestos and other fibers and can also be used to estimate the airborne
concentration of other, non-asbestos materials such as fibrous glass.
Fibers less than 0.25 microns in diameter will not be detected with
this method. |
| Asbestos-CARB 435 |
| The
analysis includes testing of rocks (and soils) for asbestos using the
California Air Resource Board 435 method. The CARB 435 method is a
specialized method used for testing asbestos content in the serpentine
aggregate storage piles, on conveyer belts, and on covered surfaces
such as roads, play-yards, shoulders and parking lots. The method
includes crushing the sample using a mill to produce a sample size of
less than 200 tyler mesh (75 microns) and then reporting the asbestos
content by performing a 400 point count technique which has a detection
limit of 0.25%. |
| Asbestos-CARB 435 (pre-crushed) |
| The
analysis includes testing of rocks (and soils) for asbestos using the
California Air Resource Board 435 method. The CARB 435 method is a
specialized method used for testing asbestos content in the serpentine
aggregate storage piles, on conveyer belts, and on covered surfaces
such as roads, play-yards, shoulders and parking lots. The method
includes reporting the asbestos content by performing a 400 point count
technique which has a detection limit of 0.25%. |
| Asbestos-EPA 1000 point count |
| The
analysis includes testing of bulk building materials for asbestos by
performing 1000 point counts (EPA 600/R-93/116). This is a detailed and
more labor-intensive technique for estimating asbestos in a building
material and is less subjective than a visual estimate. While the
visual estimation of asbestos in a building material works well for
most samples, this methodology can be very important when low asbestos
concentration in a building material is suspected or detected. This
methodology, which has a detection limit of 0.1%, increases the
accuracy and precision of the asbestos concentration determined in a
sample. |
| Asbestos-EPA 200 point count |
| The
analysis includes testing of bulk building materials for asbestos by
performing 200 point counts (EPA 600/R-93/116). This is a detailed and
more labor-intensive technique for estimating asbestos in a building
material and is less subjective than a visual estimate. While the
visual estimation of asbestos in a building material works well for
most samples, this methodology can be very important when low asbestos
concentration in a building material is suspected or detected. This
methodology, which has a detection limit of 0.5%, increases the
accuracy and precision of the asbestos concentration determined in a
sample and is widely used to comply with NESHAP regulations requirement
of performing point counting on samples with low concentrations of
asbestos. |
| Asbestos-EPA 400 point count |
| The
analysis includes testing of bulk building materials for asbestos by
performing 400 point counts (EPA 600/R-93/116). This is a detailed and
more labor-intensive technique for estimating asbestos in a building
material and is less subjective than a visual estimate. While the
visual estimation of asbestos in a building material works well for
most samples, this methodology can be very important when low asbestos
concentration in a building material is suspected or detected. This
methodology, which has a detection limit of 0.25%, increases the
accuracy and precision of the asbestos concentration determined in a
sample and is widely used to comply with NESHAP regulations requirement
of performing point counting on samples with low concentrations of
asbestos. |
| Asbestos-EPA Method 600/R-93/116 |
| The
analysis includes testing of bulk building materials for asbestos by
performing a visual estimation using the EPA Method 600/R-93/116. This
method is the most widely used method for estimating asbestos is bulk
building materials and works well for most sample types. However, it
might require a more detailed method like point counting for accurate
estimation of asbestos in samples with low asbestos concentration. This
method is also not applicable for samples containing large amounts of
fine fibers below the resolution of the PLM (< 0.3 microns). The
method separates the sample material into various layers based on their
morphology and then detects for the presence of the different asbestos
fibers in each of these layers. The report will express the percentage
of the different asbestos fibers detected in each of the different
layers based upon the visual estimation. |
| Asbestos-EPA protocol modified qualitative (soil) |
| The
analysis includes testing of soil matrix for asbestos by modifying the
EPA Method. The EPA method has primarily been designed for determining
the asbestos concentration in building materials, however this method
is capable of identifying asbestos in a soil matrix only on a
qualitative (detected/ not detected) basis. It might however require a
more detailed method like the CARB 435 for the accurate estimation of
asbestos in the soil sample. The report will indicate the presence of
the different asbestos fibers detected in the soil sample based upon a
visual examination on a qualitative basis as being detected or not
detected. |
| Asbestos-EPA protocol modified semi-quant. (soil) |
| The
analysis includes testing of soil matrix for asbestos by performing a
visual estimation. The method involves preparing the sample in specific
manner that helps in the detection and the semi-quantification of the
asbestos fibers in the soil sample. It might however require a more
detailed method like the CARB 435 for the accurate estimation of
asbestos in the soil sample. The report will express the percentage of
the different asbestos fibers detected in soil sample on a
semi-quantitative basis as either being less than 1% or greater than
1%, based upon a visual estimation. |
| Asbestos-gravimetric point count |
| The
analysis includes a detailed and very labor-intensive testing of bulk
building materials for its organic components, inorganic acid-soluble
and insoluble components and asbestos concentration based on 400 point
counts (EPA 600/R-93/116). This is a detailed and more labor-intensive
technique for estimating asbestos and other components in a building
material and is less subjective than a visual estimate. This
methodology, which has a detection limit of 0.25%, increases the
accuracy and precision of the asbestos concentration determined in a
sample. The report will express the percentage of the different
asbestos fibers detected based upon the 400 point counts and also
provide a percentage concentration of the organic, inorganic
acid-soluble and insoluble components in the whole sample. |
| Asbestos-OSHA with TWA |
| The
analysis includes testing of air sample for asbestos and other fibers
by PCM via NIOSH 7400 and calculating the Time Weighted Average (TWA).
TWA's are used for personnel sampling and the most common objective of
performing a TWA sampling is for compliance with OSHA limits. More than
one sample per individual is required to perform the TWA analysis. The
results of the multiple samples per individual are combined to report
the TWA. |
