Asbestos is a form of carcinogen, which can turn out to be very dangerous for the public health, and as well, for the environment as a whole if not dealt with properly. Asbestos and asbestos containing materials should be dealt with utmost care, since asbestos has been known to cause life-threatening diseases including lung cancer.

Why asbestos testing?

Since airborne asbestos poses a great threat to the surroundings, it is important that any individual having to deal with any such substance that might be containing asbestos chooses to seek expert help before starting with the work.

The first and most important thing to be done is to make sure that you go for asbestos testing. Asbestos testing is a process by which a qualified laboratory, with the help of skilled personnel and necessary equipment, carries out tests to find out if the substance that you need to deal with contains asbestos or not.

Benefits

In fact asbestos testing not only helps you in knowing if the materials contain asbestos or not, they also help you in knowing the nature of the materials and that amount of asbestos content in it. With the help of asbestos testing you can easily decide how to proceed with the work involving the use of that material. This material could be anything. For instance you might want to give the laboratories samples of your roofing materials, floor tiles, exterior stucco, insulation, etc, for asbestos testing.

How to get it done

For asbestos testing, all that you need to do is give these laboratories a small sample of the material you need to work with, so that they can decide if it contains asbestos or not. This step is important as it determines greatly your next course of action.

When you prepare a sample for asbestos testing, do make sure that the sample is adequate enough for them to carry out the test efficiently. However, you need not break out excessively large pieces of the material and submit a sample that is too large. Remember, asbestos testing does not require you to submit very large samples. A reasonably sized piece (that is about one inch for friable materials) or amount of asbestos (that is about one teaspoon of friable materials) is more than enough for asbestos testing.

Precautions

As you remove these pieces for asbestos testing, do make sure that you spray the material first with water, preferably containing trace amounts of detergent too. Also, as you cut out the piece of the material, try using a sharp object such as a knife for greater convenience. These steps help ensure that a minimum amount of particles are let out into the atmosphere, or are inhaled by you.

The laboratories

These asbestos testing laboratories are highly specialized. They generally provide you with all necessary information regarding the sample you have sent within a very small time period. Often the results of asbestos testing can be revealed within 24 hours or less. The asbestos testing laboratories may also provide you with confidential reports, and can also help in guiding you into following the most appropriate course of action to be followed with the asbestos containing equipment. All that you need to do is find out about such laboratories, and ask them all about their requirements. They charge a minimal amount of fee for their services.