Asbestos in soil and water: A review of analytical techniques and methods

Abstract

In this review the main standard and novel analytical techniques and methods for sampling, sample preparation, detection and quantification of asbestos in soil and water are described, compared and discussed in terms of advantages and limitations. An overview of common analytical methods applied for identification and quantification of airborne asbestos is preliminary provided, as they have been widely studied, due to the well-known human pathologies related to fibers inhalation. Despite the presence of asbestos in soil and water may also constitute a health risk, it has been less investigated and regulated. For these environmental matrices, the methods adopted at international and national scale, covering the whole analytical process, from sampling to management of data, are reported in depth, highlighting their limitations like sensitivity, reliability and reproducibility. Finally, different promising novel/unconventional methods, that may substitute or support traditional ones for asbestos detection both in environmental and anthropic matrices, are presented and critically evaluated.

Keywords: Analytical methodology; Asbestos; Environmental investigation; Soil pollution; Water pollution.