Asbestos is a material that is used in the manufacturing of construction materials. The character of asbestos is fibrous and silicate. Some of the building materials that are made using asbestos will include floor tiles, cement siding, ceiling tiles, insulation, and many others. Asbestos has been banned in very many countries due to its effects to the environment and human beings. When it is in the building’s material, asbestos is said to be safe. The damage on the material, however, makes it to be exposed to the air around it. Exposing the asbestos to the environment is illegal since it can lead to serious hazards on peoples’ health. There are a numerous number of possibilities that can be as a result of exposure of asbestos to the air. The fibres of asbestos are the ones that are known get in the air as a result people breath them in their lungs. Many are the diseases that can be as a result of breathing in the asbestos fibers in the lungs.
As a result of this the need to conduct the test to determine whether there is asbestos in the air. There is need to ensure that there is a test that is done of one’s building to ensure no asbestos is in the air to ensure this. Safety to all the people residing in the building is the main reason to why the tests are done. When it comes to doing the tests, they are mainly done in an area where there is a likelihood of asbestos exposure. When the materials have been damaged there can be a result of asbestos exposure to the environment. The benefit of doing this is to ensure that the material is replaced and the repair is done where necessary.
It is necessary to note that there are two main types of air tests when it comes to the air test for asbestos. Transmission electron microscopy and the phase contrast microscopy are the two types of air test for asbestos. The is guarantee for reliability when then the two tests are taken. The best test out of the two is the transmission electron microscopy. The main reason for this is because it is able to detect great sizes of fibres hence making very accurate. When it comes to the PCM test, it is done by getting a sample of air which is sucked through a filter. After the air sample is achieved a part of the filter is taken a put under a microscope for examining. One of the benefit of this method is it is very cheap and affordable. Also, less time is required to achieve and gets the results.
Using the electrons of a light microscope is what the TEM test consists of. An air sample is collected from the suspected area. One will easily determine the asbestos particles in the air with the help of the electrons. The method is also not very expensive but it is time consuming.