We are leading in Red Lab
Red Lab
Handling asbestos has been a significant challenge for environmental testing laboratories for decades. Ensuring accurate results for asbestos contamination often requires laboratory staff to directly handle contaminated soil or subject it to physical processes like drying and crushing, which can release respirable fibres into the air.
As awareness of asbestos risks has grown, laboratories have implemented stringent control measures to protect staff. At the Normec i2 Analytical Red Lab, we use appropriate PPE, face masks, filtration equipment, and HEPA filtered air extraction, ensuring a safe working environment and compliance with safety standards during environmental sample processing.
Why choose Normec?
With our fully equipped asbestos ID and quantification laboratory Normec i2 Analytical
We are able to offer the following testing on “Red” samples, both known at the point of receipt and identified during processing:
Testing | Compaction & Earthworks |
|---|---|
Water Content | OMC/MDD Relationship |
Bulk/Dry Densities | CBR at Compaction Point |
Particle Densities | CBR on Remoulded Specimen @NMC |
Plasticity Index | MCV |
Saturated Water Content of Chalk | MCV vs MC Relationship |
PSDs | |
Linear Shrinkage | |
Soil Suction |
|
FAQ
All the most frequently asked questions
The biggest issues from the change in testing are volume and process. Whilst a typical chemistry sample will be ≤1kg of soil, and routinely only a portion of that will require drying/grinding/manual handling, a geotechnical sample may be received up to 80kg in mass with most or all subjected to manual or physical processes, including sieving, compression and agitation, which could generate airborne fibres.
For the large proportion of geotechnical labs, receiving a sample known to contain asbestos or ACM effectively put a stop to any and all testing. At i2 all our geotechnical staff were trained through our in house Asbestos team to look out for and identify potential asbestos fibres/ACM during routine processing and any suspected samples were fast tracked through the Asbestos Lab and a formal identification made by a P401 qualified analyst. But ultimately it would lead to analysis stopping.
In order to allow for testing of these “Red” samples – the terminology stems from the British Drilling Association to categorise sites known to be contaminated with traces of Asbestos, Hydrocarbons and Heavy Metals – we needed to be able to provide the same safe working environment for our geotechnical team as we have for our chemistry team, and this has led to the creation of our own Red Lab.
Housed in a separate unit, the Red Lab is an enclosed facility equipped with extensive HEPA filtered air extraction and an upgraded PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) requirement, with “air-locked” areas allowing access for staff and the ability to change in and out of PPE safely.
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Normec i2 Analytical
Watford United Kingdom