Evaluating the efficiency of an asbestos stabilizer on ceiling tiles and the characteristics of the released asbestos fibers

The efficiency of asbestos stabilizers and their adaptability were evaluated by investigating the characteristics of asbestos fibers released from ceiling tiles. The impact of such variables as the wind speed or vibration conditions was also studied along with the asbestos stabilizers. The concentrations of the asbestos fibers released from damaged ceiling tiles treated with stabilizers decreased by 69.5-84.4% compared with those of untreated tiles for all variables, with a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001). The effects of the environmental factors on the asbestos concentrations were analyzed through a multiple regression analysis. It was determined that the surface status of the ceiling tiles and stabilizers were the main factors affecting the concentration, and the reliability of these factors was estimated as 58.3%. The lengths of the chrysotile fibers released from the damaged ceiling tiles were in the range of 0.991-79.1 μm for the untreated tiles and 3.74-35.6 μm for the tiles treated with inorganic stabilizers. It was confirmed that inorganic stabilizers are more efficient for damaged ceiling tiles. The results of this study also show that the asbestos concentrations are greatly reduced after treating damaged ceiling tiles with a stabilizer.