Because of its relatively low cost and useful properties, asbestos was commonly used in the past all over the world. In particular the fireproofing and insulating properties of this natural mineral made it ideally suitable for various applications in constructions and buildings. However, a few decades ago it became clear that asbestos fibers are dangerous. Inhaling them can cause diseases such as asbestosis and lung cancer. The chemical composition and how asbestos fibers are bound determine the level of hazard.
In collaboration with our partners M.M. lab in the Netherlands in the summer of 2016 CEGE launched an asbestos laboratory at the office in Willemstad. This is the first asbestos laboratory which is physically located in the Caribbean. Asbestos identification in bulk materials and adhesive samples (using polarized light microscopy) and air samples (using phase-contrast microscopy) can now be performed on Curacao without sending samples to Europe or America. This results in lower costs and shorter lead times.
Also CEGE provides a visual inspection service and clearance sampling for control of asbestos demolition works (based on NEN 2990). This is in addition to asbestos inventories in buildings and on ships which already were in our service package.