Asbestos

“Asbestos is the term for several fibrous minerals regulated under New Zealand law that are known to cause fatal or potentially fatal illnesses when inhaled. Asbestos does not present a known significant health risk in other situations. The symptoms of illness may not appear for 20 or more years after exposure.” (BRANZ, 2017)  

Identifying asbestos in building materials or soils is an important part of managing the health and safety of people living and working around them. 

It is a specialized area of work, and Analytica Laboratories strongly recommends consulting with experts who are qualified to assess asbestos risk and (if necessary) develop a plan for its ongoing management if you have concerns about asbestos in a property, building, or waste material. 

Our laboratories are accredited to identify and quantify the asbestos present in samples submitted to us, following New Zealand guidelines. 

Testing Options 

• Bulk sample analysis (IANZ accredited) – presence or absence of asbestos in samples of building materials, demolition debris, and other samples suspected to contain asbestos. 
  • Complies with AS4964 (2004) “Method for the Qualitative Identification of Asbestos in Bulk Samples”. 
• Air monitoring analysis (IANZ accredited) – counting of airborne fibres collected on a membrane filter when monitoring air quality. 
  • Complies with NOHSC:3003 (2005) “Guidance Note on the Membrane Filter Method for Estimating Airborne Asbestos Fibres - 2nd Edition” 
• Soil analysis (BRANZ) – quantification of asbestos in contaminated soil as per NZ guidelines published in 2017. 
  • Complies with the BRANZ published “NZ Guidelines for Assessing and Managing Asbestos in Soil” (2017). 

Sample Collection

Analytica Laboratories does not provide sampling services.  We have provided some information on sample collection on our Sample Collection page. 

Please note that asbestos is potentially harmful if not handled correctly, and care needs to be taken when working with materials that are suspected to contain asbestos.  We strongly recommend that sampling is undertaken by experienced and qualified people.

* Note On Turn Around Time
Samples that are delivered to the Hamilton lab location may require an extra working day for the results. This is to ensure that the sample is sent to the regional laboratory. Please note that asbestos testing is not available at the Hamilton location.