The monitoring, preservation and improvement of environmental conditions are of high social value. Asbestos refers to a group of naturally-occurring minerals composed of fine fibers. When materials containing asbestos are broken, sawn or drilled, the concentration of dangerous asbestos fibers in the ambient air increases rapidly. Asbestos fibers that enter the lungs can cause asbestosis - hardening and scarring of the connective tissue - and cancer. It has been shown that even asbestos alternatives such as artificial mineral fibers (AMF) can cause cancer. Aggressive and complete removal of asbestos is necessary to achieve a lasting solution to protect people and the environment.
Reliable solutions for sampling, preparation and analysis are a precondition for efficient environmental analytics.
In this area, the important aspects are gold-coated track-etched filters such as i3 TrackPor, monitoring devices for sampling indoor and ambient air for SEM/EDX analysis e.g. for asbestos, and membranes with minimal autofluorescence. The type of analysis is based on different technical guidelines.