Assessment of assay methods for evaluating asbestos abatement technology at the Corvallis Environmental Research Laboratory

Technical Report · Wed Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1986

OSTI ID:7120714

Karaffa, M; Amick, R; Crone, A; Zimmer, C

Air sampling was conducted at an EPA office building which had undergone an asbestos abatement program. The aggressive sampling technique revealed that air-entrainable asbestos remained in work areas after completion of abatement actions. The ratio of aggressive-to-nonagressive PCM fiber concentrations was 7.0, whereas this ratio was 3.7 for TEM analyses. Study results also confirm that, under similar sampling conditions, TEM analysis detects more fibers than PCM because of TEM's better resolving capability. The ratio of TEM/PCM concentrations for nonagressive sampling was 3.0 for ambient samples and 3.3 for indoor samples; the ratio for agressive sampling was about 2. Because the PCM method does not discriminate between asbestos and other fibers, and cannot resolve fibers thinner than about 0.2 micrometer, PCM results may not accurately reflect the true hazard potential.

• Research Organization: PEI Associates, Inc., Cincinnati, OH (USA)
• OSTI ID: 7120714
• Report Number(s): PB-87-110961/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500200* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR POLLUTION
AIR POLLUTION ABATEMENT
ASBESTOS
BUILDINGS
ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
FIBERS
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
INSPECTION
MATERIALS
MICROSCOPY
OFFICE BUILDINGS
POLLUTION
POLLUTION ABATEMENT
SAMPLING