How much does it cost to have a popcorn ceiling tested for asbestos?
By admin on Nov 12, 2009 in Maintenance & Repairs
Larry K asked:
I have a rental property in Los Angeles, California. My tenant is now pregnant and concerned about asbestos in the popcorn ceiling. I’m looking for responses from people who have had their home tested about their experience (who did the testing, the cost, how long it took, etc.),
I have a rental property in Los Angeles, California. My tenant is now pregnant and concerned about asbestos in the popcorn ceiling. I’m looking for responses from people who have had their home tested about their experience (who did the testing, the cost, how long it took, etc.),
On Nov 12, 2009, dadcat00759 said:
If you have a local university they can test it in the science lab and they will usually do it free of charge just for the experience for the students contact them first and find out if they do it and how to go about it.
I have done this in the past and it is very reliable and usually free to very little cost the time it takes all depends on the class doing it and what they already have going on but if you explain the deal I’m sure they could help you.
On Nov 13, 2009, phys431 said:
Most people do not have access to laboratory services provided by a university or government institution. So…
Go to your yellow pages (or on the internet) and look up laboratory analysis, or an industrial hygiene / environmental laboratory. Call up the lab and ask if they perform ‘bulk PLM (polarized light microscopy) analysis’. Ask them if they are NVLAP (pronounced nav-lap) accredited. This stands for National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program, and it means that they know how to analyze with the technique properly and effectively. No laboratory will survive a court-of-law’s scrutiny if they don’t have this accreditation. Laboratories that are in this business for real WILL get this accredidation and maybe even an accredidation from AIHA (American Industrial Hygiene Association).
Expect to pay about $20 for a 24 hour turn around. At *most*, they only need enough material that would be the equivalent size of a 9V battery. If they tell you that the results were inconclusive (which I doubt for this type of material), then expect to re-sample and re-analyze using a TEM (transmission electron microscopy) analysis. Those would be around $60 for a 24-hour turn around. That type of analysis can discern any material with a 100% certainty, but usually it’s only for floor tile because the manufacturers mill the fibers to be too small to accurately see in a PLM microscope.
If the ceiling is more than 10-15 yrs old, then the likelihood of asbestos content will be great. Good luck