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If you own a home in the Los Angeles area that was built before the late 1970s, there is a good chance that somewhere in that home are some types of asbestos products. Common examples include pipe insulation, ceiling tiles, and more. Asbestos was widely used for several decades before coming under greater scrutiny for its potential health effects, including asbestosis and mesothelioma. In California, you are also required to disclose any potential issues that you are aware of during a potential real estate transaction, so getting asbestos testing in Los Angeles homes is often seen as a good way to know where you stand.
Asbestos is a group of minerals that form in a fibrous structure and was initially seen as a miracle material due to its ability to resist fire and heat in general. The fibers are long, thin, highly flexible, and separable, so they can easily be woven into or otherwise incorporated into countless potential products. Once discovered, they were widely used in industrial and military applications, as a component in brake pads, as a primary fireproofing component, and as a way to add insulation to plumbing and homes.
Eventually, however, the products can become damaged, and the fibers can become airborne, which is where the problems start. The fibers that make up asbestos are the biggest reason that the material has been all but banned in the US and countless other countries around the world. The fibers, when damaged and broken off of the product become airborne, and when inhaled, become embedded in the pleural tissue of the lungs. This causes the fibers to eventually be encapsulated in scar tissue, and that scar tissue has a high chance of breeding cancerous cells over the next 20-50 years.
Exposure to asbestos poses enormous health and safety hazards that must be managed or eliminated, as quickly as possible. If your building requires asbestos identification, the inspection process will be conducted by an industrial hygiene consulting firm. Depending on what the inspection uncovers, it could call for the safe removal or in-place management of the asbestos. We have close relationships with companies who can conduct asbestos removal work. Home Bio Testing offers:
– Air Clearance
– Bulk Sampling
– On-site Services
– Consulting Services
– Survey Report & Recommendation
Home BioTesting is a licensed asbestos consultation business. We provide many asbestos testing and surveying in Los Angeles.
Asbestos is the name of a group of highly fibrous minerals with separable, long and thin fibers. Asbestos fibers are strong and flexible enough to be spun and woven. Asbestos fibers are heat and chemical resistant, making them useful for many industrial purposes.
Asbestos has been used commonly in a variety of building construction materials for insulation and as a fire-retardant. Since asbestos fibers are resistant to heat and most chemicals, they have been mined for use in over 3,000 different products including roofing materials, brake pads and cement pipe often used in distributing water to communities.
Today, asbestos is most commonly found in older homes, in pipe and furnace insulation materials, asbestos shingles, millboard, textured paints and other coating materials as well as floor tiles.
Home Biotesting inspectors have extensive experience in performing surveys for property transactions. The surveys allow the financial liability associated with managing and removing asbestos-containing material (ACM) to be considered in the valuation of the property. Asbestos surveys and screenings involve a sampling and laboratory analysis of the building materials and can accurately identify and quantify asbestos fibers.
Before renovation and demolition activities, the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants regulation requires that all building materials that will be impacted be surveyed to identify all ACM.
Home Biotesting inspectors have extensive experience in performing surveys for property transactions. The surveys allow the financial liability associated with managing and removing asbestos-containing material (ACM) to be considered in the valuation of the property. Asbestos surveys and screenings involve a sampling and laboratory analysis of the building materials and can accurately identify and quantify asbestos fibers.
Before renovation and demolition activities, the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants regulation requires that all building materials that will be impacted be surveyed to identify all ACM.
Our asbestos testing service in Los Angeles provides expert analysis of your home or project for asbestos. Our assessment services provide an inspection of the property, a detailed report, and consulting services to assist after the inspection.
It is our goal to not only provide a service, but to assist our customers throughout the entire assessment process, even after we deliver the report.
All of our environmental testing services in Los Angeles can be provided in a short period and can be scheduled for a time that is convenient for you and your family. Since asbestos presents such a significant risk to health and safety, it is important that it be identified and either removed or managed in place by trained and experienced local professionals. If your building is one that requires asbestos testing and identification, that service will be conducted by an industrial hygiene consulting firm like Home Bio Testing. In many cases, asbestos-containing materials will be identified visually, however, in some situations, testing may be needed to verify identification.
The process may be a little different from one testing company to another, but in general, the process will look similar across most providers. First, you’ll contact us to discuss your testing needs and to schedule your building’s test. The testing professionals will show up at the appointment time and will request access to areas of the building where asbestos-containing materials may be present. The testing professionals will make visual inspections, obtain samples for testing, and examine the condition of the asbestos itself. The homeowner will often be given a preliminary determination if one can be made, otherwise, they will be updated once the formal testing results are available.
Many homeowners that find themselves in need of asbestos abatement in Los Angeles wonder what the process itself entails, and how they may need to prepare. The process is going to be largely contained to the areas of the home where the asbestos-containing materials are located, which will be isolated and kept under negative air pressure.
The removal professionals will determine the safest way to remove the asbestos-containing materials, which will depend on the type of material and their condition. In some cases, the removal may take just a few hours across one or two days to complete, though in other cases of more significant asbestos presence, the removal could take several days. The materials will be removed from their installation location and safely contained and labeled as hazardous materials and will be taken off-site to the appropriate disposal location by us.
It’s not something you need often, but when you finally do need asbestos analysis and asbestos removal in Los Angeles, it is important that you use a professional with years of experience. Asbestos exposure can take decades to become apparent, so make sure that your asbestos inspection service is recognized as one of the best in California.
If you are buying or selling a home in the Los Angeles area and need asbestos testing prior to the sale transaction, or if you’ve had testing done and need a local professional to handle the abatement, Home BioTesting can help you manage it all. Reach out today to discuss your needs and how we can help.
