EMS Background in Asbestos Analysis
EMS Laboratories entered the field of asbestos in 1978. In 1978
EMS
was awarded a major contract with the EPA for asbestos analysis of
effluent
water using the transmission electron microscope. In 1978, we
became
a contractor to the State of California for asbestos analysis in the
State's
water supplies.
EMS was chosen in 1992 by the
Health Effects Institute-Asbestos
Research
to analyze air filters by transmission electron microscopy in support
of
the Congress-mandated research on the "Effects of Maintenance and
Custodial
Activities on Exposure of Building Occupants to Asbestos."
EMS was awarded an EPA
contract in 1992 for construction of a dust
generator
and air elutriator for simulating asbestos fiber release at superfund
sites.
The equipment is being used to generate sample filters with
asbestos-containing
materials. The air filters are analyzed by the ISO 10312 by TEM.
When EPA's guidelines for
inspection of schools for asbestos-containing
materials were published in 1981, EMS became on the first laboratories
to offer inspection, sampling and analysis services for asbestos.
Our reports were reviewed by the EPA.
EMS is accredited by the U.S.
Department of Commerce's National
Institute
of Standards and Technology under their accreditation program (NVLAP)
for
bulk asbestos analysis. We are one of 12 laboratories in the
country
that has had a perfect identification record since the beginning of the
EPA asbestos program. EMS has always been proficient in the NVLAP
program.
The AHERA-TEM protocol and
quality assurance program as specified
in CFR Part 763, "Asbestos-Containing Materials in Schools: Final Rule
and Notice, " has been in place since 1987 when EMS had a U.S. EPA
contract that required the AHERA quality control program. We have
been accredited through NVLAP for airborne asbestos fiber analysis by
transmission electron microscopy since July, 1990. EMS has always
been proficient in the NVLAP program.
EMS has been in the PAT
program for analysis of air filters since
1980 and is accredited by the American Industrial Hygiene Association
(AIHA). Our PCM microscopists are Board approved under the AAR
program.
In addition to TEM, PCM, and PLM
analyses, EMS offers X-ray diffraction
analysis for confirmation of asbestos in vinyl asbestos tile samples
and
transmission or scanning electron microscopy for fiber identification
when
PCM and PLM analyses are questionable.
EMS Laboratories Inc. / 117 West Bellevue Drive / Pasadena
CA 91105-2503
Tel. (626) 568-4065 or (800) 675-5777 Fax (626) 796-5282