Asbestos containing materials (ACM) are mixtures of individual asbestos fibers and binding material.

Chrysotile is the most common type of asbestos found in buildings. Also known as “white asbestos,” chrysotile makes up approximately 90%-95% of all asbestos contained in buildings. Amosite is the second most prevalent type of asbestos found in building materials. Amosite is also known as “brown asbestos.”
Crocidolite or “blue asbestos,” is found in specialized high temperature applications.

ANALYSIS

Asbestos fibers cannot be seen by naked eyes. The asbestos content of suspect materials can be determined by analyzing samples as per NIOSH 9000 with following techniques:

• X-ray diffraction (XRD)
• Polarized light microscopy (PLM)

 These analysis results give the percent and type of asbestos in the sample. The asbestos content of manufactured items ranges from 1 – 100 %.