With every year of scientific pursuit and research, it seems that we discover an increasing number of hazardous materials and potentially lethal illnesses linked to them. Take, for instance, microplastics—a relatively new discovery in health science that has been linked to a variety of developing ailments. While this science is progressing, it often leaves longer-known issues by the wayside. One great example is asbestos. 

Asbestos is a term used to describe a group of minerals that were popularly used in building materials and commercial products during the 20th century. Of its most common uses, asbestos was popularly added to building materials such as insulation, mastics, roofing, and vinyl flooring. Decades after it became a popular facet of American commerce, it was found to be a hazardous material, particularly when it releases microscopic mineral fibers when disturbed. 

Nowadays, it is common knowledge that asbestos can cause a range of diseases, including mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer, to name a few. Since the discovery of its adverse health effects, the American government has put heavy regulations on the material, creating a booming industry of asbestos abatement and testing services.

Asbestos Meets the Digital Age – Phone Applications Improve Screening Processes

Luckily, there have been some innovators who have sought to combine the worlds of asbestos testing and technology. Early on, many groups proposed digital screening processes to help start the process of screening for and identifying possible asbestos-containing materials. Some of these programs had incredible success stories, allowing people from across the globe to discover, track, and flag materials to be safely removed from public and private spaces. 

One incredibly innovative program took the form of a smartphone application. The app utilized a detailed questionnaire, which included questions regarding the location of a material, the type of material, and any possible manufacturing information to help identify if a material was likely to contain asbestos fibers. Paired with a comprehensive digital database of countless known asbestos-containing materials, the application allowed people to get a reasonably accurate screening of materials that could contain asbestos at the palm of their hands. 

In essence, efforts such as this marked the incredibly nuanced pairing of new-age solutions to age-old problems.

The Future of Asbestos Testing

As it stands, asbestos testing is a field that is not going anywhere. Although asbestos is banned or highly regulated in the U.S (and most of the World), it is a lingering issue that is found in countless buildings and products to this day. As shown through a few groundbreaking studies, artificial intelligence and machine learning are highly advanced systems that can be applied to the very antiquated industry of asbestos testing. Specifically, it has been shown that computer systems excel at learning and perfecting their ability to accurately count asbestos fibers in air samples. With more work and honing, asbestos labs across the country may likely adopt these systems to increase workflows and aid in the issue of removing asbestos. 

Additionally, other forms of asbestos testing, such as bulk testing, also require a lot of human skill and time. Although they may require more advanced analytical techniques, many researchers are hoping to create learning algorithms to teach artificial intelligence systems how to read bulk samples for asbestos identification. 

In any case, while it is rather old, the story of asbestos usage and asbestos testing is not over. Through newly developed computational methods, researchers have shown that even time-tested practices such as microscopy can be streamlined. 

Moving foreward, we will surely have to keep an eye out for other unique developments such as this in the world of computational science!