Asbestos Analysis

The asbestos group of minerals cover a range of different compositions but the common factor between all asbestos types is the fibrous nature of particles – with very high aspect ratios and nanoscale width so that they can only be detected and analysed in an electron microscope.  If these fibres are inhaled they can cause a lot of problems in the lungs including lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis.

Our solutions enabling the rapid and partially automated screening of samples in the scanning electron microscope and the transmission electron microscope are used by laboratories around the world to screen for asbestos.  EDS is to analyse the fibre composition and image processing software integrated in AZtecFeature combines the fibre morphology with the composition to conclusively identify the type of asbestos present.

Asbestos analysis in the TEM

Classification result of an automated run detecting asbestos fibres