I Need to Test Vermiculite for Asbestos. How Reliable is your Test?

QUESTION: Hello, Sorry to bother you again, but I have been informed that some vermiculite testing procedures produce a report with a disclaimer about their reliability – does the report issued by LCS Laboratory Inc. contain such a disclaimer?

ANSWER: LCS Laboratory performs hundred’s of tests regarding vermiculite insulation and we believe our results are reliable. We often participate in third party proficiency testing, where “blind” samples of construction materials are sent to us for analysis. We have also been continuously recognized as proficient by the AIHA LAP.

An example of our report can be seen here.

We do not include any other disclaimers, with the exception that the results are applicable only to the SAMPLES provided by the client. In other words, we can only analyze and report on what has been sent to us. Our laboratory cannot comment if there is or if there is not asbestos in an attic, because it depends on the quality of the sample.

Canadian government recognizes that samples taken from different areas of the attic can be very different. Some may contain asbestos and some are asbestos free. According to the  Ontario Asbestos Regulation 278/05 , you must collect and analyze at least 3 separate samples in order to prove that there is no asbestos. If all 3 samples show results below 0.5%, then you can say that the vermiculite is not an asbestos material. If any of them show asbestos at or above 0.5%, the entire vermiculite insulation is treated as asbestos containing material.

Thank you for your interest
Sincerely, LCS Laboratory