title: Evaluating the efficiency of an asbestos stabilizer on ceiling tiles and the characteristics of the released asbestos fibers.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Indoor Environment and Noise Research Division, National Institute of Environmental Research, 42 Hwankyeong-Ro, Seo-gu, Incheon 404-708, Republic of Korea; Department of Public Health, Graduate School, The Catholic University of Korea, 222 Banpo-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul 137-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun-Sung
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: Global Environment Research Division, National Institute of Environmental Research, 42 Hwankyeong-Ro, Seo-gu, Incheon 404-708, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jun-Seok
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Cha
authors.affiliation: Indoor Environment and Noise Research Division, National Institute of Environmental Research, 42 Hwankyeong-Ro, Seo-gu, Incheon 404-708, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seongmi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Indoor Environment and Noise Research Division, National Institute of Environmental Research, 42 Hwankyeong-Ro, Seo-gu, Incheon 404-708, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Wooseok
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Wonju Regional Environmental Office, National Institute of Environmental Research, 65 Yipchun-ro, Wonju 220-170, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ho-Ju
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, 222 Banpo-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul 137-701, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: hwkim@catholic.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Hyunwook
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
keywords: Asbestos; Asbestos stabilizer; Ceiling tile; Vibration; Wind speed