LCS Laboratory offers air quality testing of residential houses for construction dust and its components. Our technician will visit your place to collect samples of airborne construction dust to evaluate if it may cause any health concerns.
Usually, residential dust consists of 90% biological dust like paper dust, lint, skin cells, hair, and so on. During and after the renovation, the composition of dust rapidly changes. Dust levels skyrocket by 100s times and now it consists mostly of minerals or “construction” dust. Those fine particles can stay suspended in the air long after the renovation is completed.
We have unique expertise in the differentiation of components of the dust in our lab. We will perform a chemical analysis of the samples of air collected in your house, and the results will be discussed in our air quality report and compared against the clean air standards. We offer the following tests, that target different construction materials, and their hazardous properties :
- Total Inhalable Dust. This fraction of dust includes all kinds of microscopic particles found in residential air.
- Residential coarse dust is called PM10. PM10 includes relatively small particles that are small enough to be inhaled and can travel down to the bronchus where they will precipitate.
- The finest fraction of dust found in the air is identified as PM2.5. It includes the smallest particles in the size of tobacco smoke and bacteria. They can travel deep into the lungs and cause permanent damage to our bodies.
- Quartz and Cristobalite are commonly known as “Crystalline Silica” and are found in most construction materials like cement, drywall, ceramic tiles, plaster, and stucco. Silica can accumulate in people’s lungs and cause lung cancer.
- Asbestos fibers in the air became synonymous with mesothelioma, a kind of lung cancer that affected millions of miners and construction workers. We use the “Asbestos Clearance Test” is
an official test, which is a part of Ontario asbestos regulation 278-05. The test is used by abatement professionals to demonstrate that asbestos was safely removed and residual concentration of asbestos fibers is below the harmful level of 0.01 fiber per centimeter cube (ff/cc). - Glass fibers are identified by our microscopists by their distinctive needle-like shape. The glass dust, being inhaled, damages the lung tissue causing scarring and chronic diseases.
- Wood and paper fibers are not toxic by themselves but are full of allergens like pine rosin, and being inhaled in large quantities can cause inflammation.
- Lead paint dust.
80% of the places that we tested were well in compliance with the air quality guidelines. But unfortunately, there are situations, when the air in your house is hurting you. The first indication that you need to check your air is when you have excessive dust accumulation on your furniture.
Who should test the air for construction dust and its components?
- Every time you or your neighbors run an extensive renovation, a huge amount of dust is released into the air. The larger particles of construction dust precipitate in a day or two in form of
white powder on the floor and furniture, while the very fine dust can be suspended in the air for days. If you are experiencing excessive dust after a recent renovation or a construction project, you should test your air. - When you suspect that there are loose (friable) materials like glass insulation in the unfinished basement, or loose dust sipping through wall cracks, please invite us for the air quality test.
- If you sell a beautiful, newly renovated house and want to show your prospective buyer that the presale renovation was successfully completed and the building air is clean, please call us for a presale assessment.
- When you are ready to give an offer for an older house, one more thing to consider is the air quality of your future home. Invite us for a comprehensive air quality test
Service availability. We offer this service to residents of SW Ontario
What is the typical cost of the service? The cost depends on the driving distance to your property, the number of rooms that need to be tested, and the urgency of the project. For example, a test of a small apartment in London ON starts from $795. At the same time, a survey of a large property 2 hours away from our office can cost as high as $1900.
To request a quote, please send us an email to info@lcslaboratory.com Tell us what service you need, what is your name, the location of the property, the number of rooms to be tested, and tell us how fast you need the results to be reported to you. We will reply back with the estimate.
About LCS Laboratory Inc., and this test. We are a professional testing laboratory located in London, Ontario. We offer our 25 years of experience in air quality testing, our accredited lab service, and the perfect 5-star rating as recognized by Google. We offer this and other services for homeowners and construction professionals. Please email us if you have any questions. Thank you for your interest and stay safe.
