Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that has been mined and used in thousands of products since the time of the Ancient Greeks. Due to the strength of the asbestos fibers and their ability to withstand heat, asbestos has been used in many building products.

In the United States after World War II, many of the building products used to build millions of homes, schools and commercial buildings contained asbestos. These products could be found from the roof (roof shingles and mastics) to the basement (cooling and heating systems and pipes) and everywhere in between.

The laboratory at ATEL is accredited by NVLAP (National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program, Lab Code: 201073) for asbestos bulk sample analysis.

ATEL is also accredited by the California State Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ELAP, Certificate #2971) for bulk asbestos analysis of hazardous waste.

ATEL utilizes Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM) for asbestos bulk sample analysis.

ATEL participates in the AIHA IHPAT program for airborne asbestos analysis (ID#220253). ATEL utilizes Phase Contrast Microscopy (PCM) for airborne asbestos analysis.