There is currently no comprehensive ban on asbestos worldwide. Individual countries, mainly in Northern Europe, first introduced asbestos bans in the 1980s. The mining, processing and use of products containing asbestos continues to be a serious problem for human health and the environment.
SG12
Types of asbestos – properties and use
Many older buildings often still contain harmful asbestos fibers in the building materials. Soil and air can also be contaminated with these harmful fibers. The term asbestos covers various types of asbestos, which can differ in terms of their properties and previous use.
Asbestos production declining worldwide
According to statistics from the Minerals Yearbooks of the United States Geological Survey from 1980 to 2022 , the proportion of asbestos production by country has changed significantly worldwide in recent decades. While significant quantities were still being mined in 22 countries around 1980, there are only four main producers in 2022.
Release of asbestos fibers from fiber cement boards
Fiber cement boards that are traded and installed today are generally considered to be harmless to health, as they are made of modern substitute materials and are free of carcinogenic asbestos fibers. However, for houses built from the mid-1960s to the 1990s, it is often suspected that the fiber cement panels installed still contain the asbestos fibers that were previously mixed in and are harmful to health. These can be released with increasing weathering during renovation or refurbishment.
Harmful asbestos in serpentinite rock
Serpentinite, a dark greenish natural stone with characteristic spots and whitish bands, is mainly used as a decorative stone. Serpentinite is still used today for flooring, cladding and other decorative products. However, serpentinite can release harmful asbestos fibers under certain conditions. These dangers exist above all when serpentinite is worked or broken .
Building Energy Act – energy-efficient refurbishment and new construction obligations
The new Building Energy Act (GEG) – “Act on Energy Saving and the Use of Renewable Energies for Heating and Cooling in Buildings” came into force on November 1, 2020 and merged the previous laws and ordinances (EnEG, EnEV and EEWärmeG).
Information system for hazardous substances (IGS-public)
The Information System for Hazardous Substances (IGS-public), an online portal of the State Agency for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection of North Rhine-Westphalia (LANUV), provides consumers with free information on substance characteristics and legislation on chemical and biological substances. The database with around 250,000 entries on substances contains important information on health protection and the handling of hazardous substances.
Ventilate properly with CO2 measuring devices – coronavirus air sampling with Vira-Pore
CO2 measuring devices enable precise carbon dioxide measurements indoors and warn when poor indoor air values are exceeded. They check the air quality for its current CO2 content and remind you when it is time to ventilate when “critical values” are reached. This is done using a traffic light system or acoustic signals, for example.
Old night storage heaters – often contaminated with asbestos – PCB – chromate
Depending on the year of construction and model type, night storage heaters can still be heavily contaminated with asbestos and other harmful pollutants such as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and chromate (chromium VI). In order to measure possible asbestos contamination indoors, GSA measuring devices offers suitable measuring devices such as the SG12 for asbestos measurement.
AMF fibre measurements with SG12 for mineral wool insulation
With the specially developed for fibre measurements according to VDI 3492 SG12 can also be used to sample roof insulation for potential sources of danger. Roof insulation is often made of glass wool or rock wool, which are classified as AMF (artificial mineral fibers). According to TRGS 905, these fibers can be carcinogenic.