Health & Environmental Research Online (HERO)


Print Feedback Export to File
3583765 
Journal Article 
Deterioration status of asbestos-cement roofing sheets assessed by analyzing hyperspectral data 
Bassani, C; Cavalli, RM; Cavalcante, F; Cuomo, V; Palombo, A; Pascucci, S; Pignatti, S 
2007 
1 
Remote Sensing of Environment
ISSN: 0034-4257 
109 
3 
361-378 
WOS:000248091500008 
This paper describes a systematic procedure for recognizing corrugated asbestos-cement roofing sheets and evaluating their deterioration status related to the asbestos fiber air dispersion that can cause lung cancer. To develop this procedure, we made field and laboratory measurements and gathered airborne MIVIS data covering two industrial test areas in Italy. Laboratory analyses of asbestos-cement samples representing various levels of deterioration allowed for: (a) recognizing dominant minerals using XRD and FTIR instruments, (b) identifying their optical characteristics using portable field spectrometers (ASD and mu FTIR), (c) assessing the abundance of surfacing asbestos fibers using a high resolution scanner. Based on the spectral analyses, two linear regression lines were identified by relating optical asbestos-cement material characteristics (i.e. band-depth ratio of the continuum removed calculated for the two asbestos diagnostic bands at 2.32 mu m and at 9.44 mu m) to the relative percentage of surfacing asbestos fibers related to AC deterioration status. Suitable MIVIS spectral regions were used in a spectral classification procedure to map asbestos-cement roofs. The detected roofs were further analyzed using the obtained linear regression lines to estimate surfacing asbestos fiber abundance, using the MIVIS TIR range at 9.44 mu m, selected by means of the asbestos-cement detection limit analysis. The results showed that a hyperspectral scanner with suitable operational characteristics allows for good clustering of AC roofs as a function of their deterioration status. Therefore, this technique can furnish government authorities with an efficient, rapid and. repeatable environmental mapping procedure that can provide information about the location of hazardous AC roofing sheets. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 
asbestos cement; urban remote sensing; hyperspectral data; detection thresholds 
OPPT REs
• OPPT_Asbestos, Part I: Chrysotile_C. Engineering
     Total – title/abstract screening
          On topic
               Peer review
                    Primary source
• OPPT_Asbestos, Part I: Chrysotile_D. Exposure
     Total – title/abstract screening
          Off topic
• OPPT_Asbestos, Part I: Chrysotile_E. Fate
     Total – title/abstract screening
          Off topic