Asbestos Assessments

Asbestos is a naturally occurring silicate mineral that has long, thin fibrous crystals. The word asbestos comes from a Greek adjective meaning inextinguishable. The reason the Greeks termed asbestos is because they thought of it as a miracle mineral because of its soft pliant properties, along with its ability to withstand heat.

Asbestos is toxic, and the inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause serious illness including:

• Malignant Mesothelioma

• Lung Cancer

• Asbestosis (Type of Pneunoconiosis)

Since the Mid 1980s most developed countries have banned asbestos. In the late 19th century it was increasing popular among manufacturers and builders because of its resistance to heat, electrical and chemical damage, sound absorption and tensile strength. When asbestos is used for heat resistance the fibers are often mixed with cement or woven into fabric mats. Asbestos was used for heat resistance products such as electric oven and hotplate wiring for electrical insulation, and in buildings for its flame retardant and insulating properties. There are 6 different minerals that define asbestos including chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite, and actinolite. There are 3 different types of asbestos:

• White- Contained from Chrysotile that is obtained from serpentine rocks which are common throughout the world. This is the most commonly used asbestos that accounts for about 95% of the asbestos found in buildings in America. It can be spun into fabric, used on sheet ceilings and floors, brake linings, cloth behind fuses, pipe insulation, floor tiles, and rope seals for boilers.
  

• Brown- Contained from Amosite commonly from Africa in Asbestos Mines of South Africa. Most frequently used as a fire retardant in thermal insulation products and ceiling tiles.
  

• Blue- Contained from Crocidolite which is an amphibole found primarily in Southern Africa and Australia. They have a crystal structure containing strongly bonded ribbonlike silicate anion polymers that extend through the length of the crystal.
  

Over 100,000 people in the United States have died, or will die from asbestos exposure just relating to ship building. The first documented death from asbestos was in 1906. In the early 1900s researchers began to notice a large number of early deaths and lung problems in asbestos mining towns. The first diagnosis of asbestos was made in England in 1924, and by the 1930s England was regulating ventilation and made asbestosis an excusable work related disease. The United States government and asbestos industry have been criticized for not acting quickly enough to inform the public of asbestos dangers. Late 1970s court documents prove that asbestos industry officials knew of asbestos dangers since the 1930'3 concealing it from the public from that long of a period. Naturally asbestos is found in the environment in very small doses every where including drinkable water sources, but it has not yet fully understood if it causes any affects.

Recycling and Disposing

In most developed countries asbestos is normally disposes as hazardous waste in landfill sites.  However asbestos can also be recycled by transforming it into harmless silicate glass. This process is done with a thermal decomposition at 1000-1250 degrees Celsius turning the asbestos into a silicate glass.

Asbestos Assessments

If your worried you office or building, ect. has harmful amounts of asbestos you need to have an asbestos assessment done immediately to safe your life and other and have the problem taken car of by professionals.

The assessment and removal of asbestos has been an on going challenge for many asbestos assessment companies. They provide certified inspectors who confront in head on by preparing comprehensive survey to identify the location and quantity of asbestos containing materials and hazards. Samples are collected of suspected asbestos containing materials during inspections and design detailed site specifications are taken for possible abatement of removal. Air sampling in sites followed by fiber counting under a phase microscope determines the levels of repairable asbestos fibers present. Asbestos Assessment companies provide services such as:

• Asbestos Management
• Carry out all types of Asbestos surveys and comprehensive reports with recommendations
• Project management of Asbestos Removal
• Asbestos Air Monitoring
• Issue site clearance certificates