Recommended Sample Size for Asbestos Analysis

• If you want to sample possible asbestos containing materials and would like to bring them to our laboratory for asbestos analysis, here are the recommended sizes and weights.

  After the standard ‘AS 5370:2024 – Sampling and qualitative identification of asbestos in bulk materials (ISO 22262-1:2012, MOD)’ was approved (in June 2024), superseding ‘AS 4964-2004’, it brought more clarity in the recommended sample sizes required for asbestos identification analysis in an IANZ accredited laboratory.

   

  The most important thing to keep in mind is that the sample must be a representative piece of the material, meaning that it should cover all the depth, layers and surface of the materials. If a non-representative amount of material is brought in, it may lead to an inaccurate result (e.g., a false negative result could be obtained if the sample does not have the layer/area that contains asbestos).

For bulk samples that are homogenous*, such as plaster, plasterboard, cement board, stipple, textured material, fibre boards, insulation boards etc, the ideal weight of 5g or more (or a minimum of 1cm³) or roughly a teaspoon of material is required.

For vinyl samples including all layers of adhesive of backing, a 50cm² piece is recommended.

Due to the complexity of vinyl tiles a 50cm² piece or more piece is a must.

For decramastic roofing multiple sample areas are recommended.

For non-homogenous** samples such as floor sweepings, dust and soils, 100g is the recommended amount which is roughly the equivilent of a full ziplock sandwich bag.

* Homogenous: materials that exhibit a more or less uniform distribution of asbestos fibres through the entire sample or in each discernible layer of the sample.

** Non-homogenous: samples containing small, discrete amounts of asbestos distributed unevenly in a large body of non-asbestos material.

If small quantities of samples are received (depending on the type of material) it may not be enough for an accurate analysis, and we may reject the sample and ask if you can obtain a larger amount. If you cannot bring a larger amount and decide to proceed as is, we may be able to analyse, but we will include an observation that states “small quantity of sample supplied, treat result with care as may not be representative.”

Sample identification (description of where sample was taken and material type) is another key part of the sample analysis. It can contribute to the quality of analysis as it will give more context to the analyst.

We require the minimum information:

• Sample address
• Area where the sample is from (e.g. bathroom, kitchen, north bedroom, shed etc)
• Element (e.g, wall, floor, ceiling, cladding, fire place etc). It is also very important to tell us if the sample is a composite (taken from multiple areas) or if only a single point
• Material description, may include colour (e.g., cement board, blue vinyl, textured plaster or skim coat, etc).

At Chemsafety, we provide:

• • Asbestos Identification Analysis for building materials in
    accordance with the Australian Standard AS4964:2004.
  • Respirable Fibre Counting Analysis in accordance with NOHSC: 3003 (2005).

Asbestos analysis tests are IANZ Accredited at our Christchurch Branch, and you can access our scope of accreditation in here. All our analysts are qualified professionals that are regularly proficiency assessed externally and internally. Our turnaround time is fast, normally 24 hours for non-urgent samples.

If you want some of our professionals to collect the sample for you, just contact us to book a date for an asbestos sample collection or air monitoring service.

Drop your samples in or send them to our Christchurch office at your convenience. Please ensure that all samples are double bagged and sealed.

Please click on the below image to download and complete the form to be dropped off along with your samples.