Asbestos inspections identify materials that may become unsafe when disturbed during renovation or demolition. Asbestos inspections by a state certified asbestos inspector are often required to satisfy permitting requirements. Certified Inspectors are trained to know which materials are most likely to contain asbestos and how to gather the samples safely. A state certified asbestos inspector is required to take an annual refresher course to maintain certification.

Air Allergen’s state certified asbestos inspector can normally inspect the property and collect samples within 2 business days of receiving a request. The number of samples taken during an asbestos inspection is determined by state and federal regulation based on the purpose of the asbestos inspection as well as the type and quantity of each material found.

Samples taken during the asbestos inspection are sent to a commercial laboratory that has been accredited by NVLAP for analysis of bulk samples by Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM), the EPA method most commonly used for identifying asbestos containing materials.

While the PLM method is cost effective and sufficiently accurate for the initial screening of samples collected during an asbestos inspection, it is not as sensitive as the point count method for asbestos content near the regulated threshold of one percent.

Samples taken by our asbestos inspector with asbestos content between one and two percent that are suitable for point count analysis will be resubmitted to the lab for the more accurate point count method without additional cost to our clients. This reduces the risk of incurring an unnecessary and potentially significant abatement cost from using asbestos inspectors who do not use the point count method.