LCS Laboratory Inc., has tested hundreds of residential houses for the concentration of fibers in the air. Today we would like to discuss what should statistically be considered as a “clean house” and what are the concentration of fibers in a property that would require additional cleaning.
The safety industry is mostly concerned about the smallest fibers. The smaller they are the deeper they get into your lungs and the more damage they can cause. In our test we follow the NIOSH 7400 procedure for fiber count. This technique naturally excludes long fibers from consideration. Practically, only fibers shorter than 100 -300 microns are reported, because the longer fibers are too big to be seen under a microscope.
Several different kinds of fibers are typical for residential air:
Cellulose fibers. These are wood, paper, and cotton fibers. They are usually non-toxic but may carry mold and some chemical allergens.- Asbestos fibres. They are the most toxic of all fibers. They are the smallest fibers of all and can stay in the air indefinitely.
- Glass and rock wool fibers. These are large fibers commonly used as insulation material. Normally, we do not see them in the air, because they are heavy and quickly settle in the form of floor dust.
- Hair, fur, feather, spider webs, and other biological fibers. They are very common but are not typically reported due to their size.
- Synthetic polymer fibers from carpet and cloth. They are not common in residential air due to their size and weight.
About 300 rooms, basements, and lofts were self-tested by our clients to ensure that fiber concentration was within the acceptable limit of 0.010 asbestos fiber per cubic centimetre of air (ff/cc). Here we are showing only samples that had been collected in normal residential homes with no active renovation. This massive volume of information was organized in order of concentrations of fibers in the air.
<0.002 ff/cc. Concentration of fibers in the cleanest residential air.
50% of all tested properties had non detectable concentration of fibers which is less than 0.002 ff/cc (fibers per centimeter cube). This is a very low concentration of fibers and it is as low as can be detected by the method.
0.000 – 0.005 ff/cc. Acceptable level
75% of all properties had fallen into this range. On the other hand, there is only 25% (1/4) of properties that have fiber concentration more than 0.005%
0.005-0.009 ff/cc. Warning level
90% of the houses had less than 0.009 fibers per centimeter cube of air. Only 10% of the most contaminated locations had a reading higher than 0.009 ff/cc.
>0.009 ff/cc. Critical limit
Only 10% of the most contaminated homes had a concentration of fibers more than 0.009 ff/cc. Please note that this concentration is very close to the regulated value of 0.010 ff/cc for the asbestos fibers clearance test.
If you believe that your house is contaminated with fibers, you can order an air sampling kit by following the link below:
Please email us if you need to test large property and would like to order a custom-built kit.
