Tile. Mastic. Roofing. Resilient flooring. These materials hide asbestos inside their binder — this kit uses the New York State method that strips the binder away first.
Nine-inch floor tile, black mastic, roofing felt and window glazing are among the most common asbestos-containing materials still in place — and all of them are non-friable. They're also the materials most likely to be met by someone doing their own work. Pulling up old flooring is a classic weekend job, and the adhesive underneath is a classic place to find asbestos.
Knowing the composition before removal begins is what determines whether the flooring comes up normally or whether the job needs asbestos-specific controls.
Put on the supplied gloves and N95 respirator. Wherever possible, use an already-loose or lifting piece — non-friable materials hold their fibres tightly, so the safest sample is the one that was already free. If you must cut, score with a hand blade and lift a small section — no power tools.
Identify the layers. Flooring, backing, adhesive and underlayment are frequently different materials with different asbestos content — and the adhesive is very often the one that contains it. Take the sample through its full thickness including any backing/adhesive, and record every visibly distinct layer on the form. Seal, double-bag, and mail in the prepaid mailer.
Non-friable organically bound materials hide their asbestos inside vinyl, asphalt or resin binder. Under an ordinary polarized light microscope that binder obscures the fibres, and a straight visual estimate can report a false negative on material that genuinely contains asbestos.
Under NYS ELAP Item 198.6 the laboratory removes the interference before it looks: the organic binder is destroyed by ashing and acid dissolution, leaving a concentrated inorganic residue, which is then examined by polarized light microscopy and quantified by point counting — a statistical procedure rather than a visual estimate. New York State specifically distinguishes this method from the friable one, and the distinction is not administrative.
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.