Asbestos Testing
Safe Environments offer asbestos testing services to identify the type of asbestos present. If your house is built in Sydney or Melbourne before 1990, it is quite likely that your house will contain some form of asbestos material. An inspection by a qualified asbestos consultant can identify potential asbestos containing materials within your house.
The results of testing can provide peace of mind as to confirm whether the material actually contains asbestos or not. If the results of asbestos testing confirm that the material does not contain asbestos, this will reduce the cost of your renovation or demolition.
Asbestos Testing Methods
It isn’t as easy as just looking at the material with the naked eye to see if it contains asbestos, the presence of asbestos in a material can only be confirmed by laboratory testing. Australian Standard AS 4964, Method for the qualitative identification of asbestos in bulk sample is the applicable standard for asbestos testing. Thhis involves viewing the fibres under a polarised light microscope under different conditions to confirm the type of asbestos, if present.
Results of Asbestos Asbestos Testing
The results of asbestos testing indicate the type of asbestos found:
• Chyrsotile (white asbestos)
• Amosite (brown asbestos)
• Crocidolite (blue asbestos)
If the sample does not contain asbestos NAD or No Asbestos Detected will appear.
Sending Samples for Asbestos Testing
To sample suspected materials for asbestos testing bonded materials:
• Wear a P2 respirator available from the local hardware store
• Dampen the material and remove a small section (about the size of a 20 cent piece)
• Place into a clear zip lock bag or similar and then into another bag again
• Apply PVA glue to the edge of where the sample was taken
If the material is friable, or appears to be a powder or easily damaged or feel unsure about collecting samples for asbestos testing, please contact us immediately to discuss your situation further or arrange for an inspection and obtain samples for asbestos testing.
It is important to note that the results of asbestos testing only state if asbestos was present, it does not provide a risk assessment which can only be conducted by a qualified asbestos consultant.
Contact our team for further information or to request any of our services.
