Hazardous substances

Pollutant registry

Buildings can contains numerous hazardous materials (dangerous substances) that represent a risk to people's health.
No later than when demolishing or remodeling buildings will it be necessary to check within the context of a risk assessment whether handling building materials will require protection measures and / or whether the disposal of the waste could be problematic.

In targeted building inspections, experienced experts take samples of suspicious materials and examine them in our laboratory. In the event that hazardous materials are detected, room air measurements can determine the compliance with benchmark values. In the case of weakly bonded asbestos products, the urgency of refurbishment is determined with the help of an evaluation form based on asbestos guidelines.

The following pollutants are of special significance here:
Asbest
Synthetic mineral fibre
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)
Pentachlorophenol (PCP)
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAK, PAH)

Asbestos
Asbestos has been confirmed to cause cancer in humans. In the past, it was used as a building material, especially in the field of fire protection. These materials are generally concealed so that the asbestos content of such materials cannot readily be identified by non-experts. The owner is required to ensure that the building is in a condition that does not endanger health. The owner is liable for the condition.

The urgency of refurbishing weakly bonded asbestos products in interiors must be assessed by a specialist. Before a large building is reconstructed or demolished, it needs to undergo an officially prescribed asbestos test; this test is also recommended for small buildings.

Synthetic mineral fibre
Synthetic mineral fibre is a collective term for a large number of products made of artificial mineral fibre. Of special technical importance are glass wool and rock wool as well as ceramic fibre products. These usually contain respirable fibres (WHO fibres). Whether such a fibre is verifiably or potentially carcinogenic is ascertained in a wet-chemical test of the cancerogenicity index.
A fibre's cancerous effect depends especially on its solubility. The faster the fibres can be dissolved by the body, or eliminated, the lower the carcinogenic effect. Synthetic fibres with modified chemical compositions considered more biologically soluble have been produced since the middle of the 1990's.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)
PCB is found frequently in joint sealing and flame-retardant paints / coats, and as softener in other materials. PCB is also used in closed systems such as capacitors and transformers.
Building materials contaminated with PCB can pose a multitude of health risks to users. These risks depend on the duration of room usage and concentration levels of PCB in room air.
According to TRGS 905, PCB is carcinogenic (category 3), endangers fertility (category 2) and is teratogenic (category 2).
The first step when inspecting buildings should be to collect and analyze samples of materials suspected to contain PCB. If heightened PCB concentrations are determined, indoor air measurements must be carried out to assess the danger.
If contamination by PCB has occurred in a building, it requires special rehabilitation measures before being demolished.

Pentachlorophenol (PCP)
PCP is the abbreviation for pentachlorophenol.
According to the TRGS 905 classification, PCP is carcinogenic (category 2), mutagenic up (category 3) and teratogenic (category 2). The carcinogenic effect is heightened further by the insecticide lindane usually found in wood preservatives.
Besides being inhalable, PCP can be resorbed by skin. It was used as a wood preserve till the end of the 1970s. It was used as a wood preservative until the end of the 1970s. The manufacture and usage of PCP has been prohibited since 1989.
PCP is distributed very unevenly in wood. The PCP concentration was highest directly after application. As the low-volatility compound PCP is released gradually to the surrounding air, its level drops.
To this day, products used in the past and containing PCP can contaminate indoor air to an extent dependent on the type and amount of PCP products present, and the room's climatic conditions. Note that products containing PCP can contaminate other, originally untreated, building materials with PCP. These secondary sources can also release PCP to the room's atmosphere.
Indoor areas are considered to pose health hazards if the expected, annual average concentration there exceeds
1 µg PCP/m3 of air.
If any material appears to be contaminated by PCP, it is advisable to collect and analyze samples of the material. If excessively high PCP levels are established, the indoor air should be precisely measured in order to assess potential hazards.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)
PAH stands for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. This is a group of many individual substances, whose lead substance is benzo(a)pyrene (BaP).
According to valid hazardous material law, benzo(a)pyrene is carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic and endangers fertility. Besides being inhalable and ingestible, benzo(a)pyrene can be resorbed by the skin.
PAH is frequently found in roofing felt, parquet adhesive, screed and floor plates. Preparations such as bitumen and tarred board with a benzo(a)pyrene content of > 50 mg/kg are considered carcinogenic according to TRGS 905.
An ad-hoc work group comprising members from the federal environmental agency's commission on indoor air hygiene and a study group of the supreme state health authorities have prepared instructions for evaluating PAH in tar-based adhesives.

What are our skills?

We possess a comprehensive quality management system and are approved by the German Accreditation System for Test Centres to measure levels of asbestos, synthetic mineral fibre, PCB, PCP and PAH.

Which services do we offer?

We inspect your buildings and technical systems for a presence of contaminants. We are a one-stop shop for all services in this field. But we are also your competent partner for individual services. These include:

• Material analysis with the scanning electron microscope (SEM)
• Determination of the KI value according to BIA workbook 7488
• Assessment of the remediation urgency for asbestos products
• Examination of the extent of the hazardous substance contamination
• Proposals for protective measures
• Measurement of the indoor air for fibre dusts, PCB, PCP, PAHs, mould, VOCs, etc.
• Issue of an asbestos certificate for demolition approval

Which standards and statutory regulations form the basis for procedures?

For the owner of a building, paragraphs 3, 16, and 53 of the prototype building regulations form the basis for investigation protocols. The occupational safety classification and assessment of pollutants and hazardous substances is carried out in accordance with the hazardous substance ordinance and the subordinate guidelines, the TRGS (technical rules for hazardous substances). The TRGS 519 and the TRGS 521 are regulations governing the remediation of asbestos or synthetic fibres. The TRGS 524 and the BGR 128 must be adhered to during remediation and work in contaminated areas. BGI 858 is an instruction manual for assessing hazards posed by biological working materials during a rehabilitation of buildings.
In conjunction with technical supervisory building regulations introduced on the basis of state construction laws, this forms the basis for assessing building contaminants. Guidelines here include those on asbestos, PCB and PCP.
Our reports are also based on a variety of publications for evaluating PAH, mildew and VOC.
Also serving as a basis for investigating contaminants are instruction leaflets, e.g. issued by the city of Hamburg for preparing registers of contaminants / hazardous substances.