Before you sand, drill or demo — know what you're dealing with. Lab analysis of friable building materials under a New York State ELAP asbestos method.
Asbestos in a wall is not a hazard. Asbestos in the air is. For anyone about to start work on an older building, the entire question is whether the thing they're about to cut into will put fibres into the air when they do.
Testing before disturbance is what determines whether a job is a weekend project or a licensed abatement — a decision with real cost attached in both directions, and not one anyone should make by looking at the material. One sample costs less than a box of drop cloths.
Wet the material first. Lightly misting the spot with water before you touch it is the single most effective thing you can do to keep fibres out of the air. Turn off forced-air heating/cooling, close the door, and put on the supplied gloves and N95 respirator.
Collect a small representative portion — roughly the volume of a large coin — taking it through the full depth of the material where practical. Depth matters more than quantity, because asbestos can be in one layer and absent from the next. Seal it in the container, double-bag it, wipe the area with a damp cloth, and return it in the prepaid mailer.
Do not sand, grind, drill, saw, sweep or vacuum to obtain a sample. If a representative sample can't be taken without significant disturbance, stop and use a licensed asbestos professional.
The laboratory examines the prepared material under a polarized light microscope. Asbestos minerals have distinctive optical behaviour — morphology, refractive characteristics, birefringence, extinction, sign of elongation — and the analyst uses that combination to identify which regulated types are present. Concentration is then estimated by calibrated visual assessment against reference standards, reported as a percentage under the applicable New York State ELAP method.
PLM is the standard first-line method for friable bulk materials worldwide — fast, inexpensive, and entirely adequate for a material that crumbles readily.
Independently operated, with no ties to filter, cleanup or remediation companies. Every sample is analyzed by an accredited partner laboratory under a named, published method, with a documented chain of custody — and your data is yours.
Order today, collect the sample at home, and mail it back in the prepaid mailer.
For informational & screening purposes. This is a laboratory analysis of the sample submitted — not a medical diagnosis, building survey, or legal determination.