News & Fairs

Avoid fines and construction stoppages: The updated BG BAU guide explains the obligations and rules that apply when handling asbestos in existing buildings.

The CRB team attended various sessions at DCONex 2026 to learn about the latest developments in pollutant management and once again took to the stage to report on the topic of asbestos analysis. This year, our laboratory manager Dr. Stefan Pierdzig gave a presentation on geogenic asbestos, and our colleague Dr. Gunnar Ries moderated the workshop “Analysis of Amphiboles.” We summarize other important topics from this year's conference in this follow-up report.

Several states, including the Consumer Advice Center NRW, are now warning of asbestos in colorful play sand and decorative sand from China. Find out more about this issue here.

It is well known that smoking causes cancer. But did you know that some cigarettes even used to contain asbestos? You read that correctly: The same substance that is now strictly forbidden and for which there are strict rules on handling and disposal during renovation work was once in cigarette filters – as a supposed health promise!

For decades, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis has been an indispensable tool for raw material control in the industry. But for which applications are XRF services exactly relevant? Our B2B customer, Dr. Krakow Rohstoffe GmbH, clearly shows one area of application on his YouTube channel.

As a first-class meeting place for the pollutant industry, DCONex attracted numerous experts to the Messe und Congress Centrum (MCC) Halle Münsterland in Münster at the end of January 2025. Our team was represented for the first time with a joint stand with our partner i3 Membrane.

We have reason to celebrate: Over 1,000 customers have rated us at Trusted Shops — with an outstanding average rating of 4.92 out of 5 stars! We are proud of this great feedback that motivates us to keep doing our best. We are also very pleased that buyer protection has not even had to be activated once so far which shows that our clients are always satisfied with the services we provide.

In November, we again met with representatives of the asbestos industry at the Asbestos Forum at the Haus der Technik (HDT) in Essen. For anyone unable to attend or would like to review the event, we have summarized some of the main points of the conference here.

From July 2024, the production, processing, delivery, and installation of quartz composite (also known as stone composite) is prohibited in Australia — a material that is also often used in this country to produce kitchen plates. With this decision, the labor ministers of the Australian states followed a recommendation from the National Occupational Health and Safety Agency.

On April 23, 2024, the VDU office in Hanover will offer basic and refresher training on “sampling drinking and bathing pool water.” As a member of the Association of German Investigation Laboratories e.V. (vdu), we would like to draw your attention to this interesting event.

In January 2024, the building pollutant experts met again at DCONex. The CRB team was also back at the trade congress and exhibition. This time not only with its own stand but also on stage: Our colleague Dr. Gunnar Ries moderated the lecture block "Current issues in asbestos analysis" and in this session, our laboratory manager Dr. Stefan Pierdzig gave a lecture on the basics of asbestos analysis.

At the end of November, CRB took part in the 2nd Builders Day in the old Hubertusbad in Berlin-Lichtenberg. The central topics of the event were the current challenges facing the construction industry in terms of the circular economy and the ecological construction and heating revolution.

In November, representatives of the asbestos industry met again at Haus der Technik in Essen. Of course, CRB could not miss the 32nd Forum on Asbestos and Other Hazardous Substances in Technical Facilities and Buildings. We were on site with our own information stand, exchanged ideas with other experts, and listened to the exciting presentations.

"Warning of 'asbestos wave': 9.4 million homes in Germany are 'asbestos traps' when renovated" - this was the title of a press release recently published by the Industriegewerkschaft Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt (IG BAU), an industrial trade union, launching an information offensive on the subject of asbestos. We welcome the broad thrust of the IG BAU and the current great public attention for the topic of asbestos and would like to make a few, from our point of view, important additions to the current reporting.

To ensure the safety of our employees, we regularly take indoor air samples in our test laboratory and then test them for asbestos fibers, KMF, or carbon fibers. In this article, we report who is subject to mandatory indoor air analyses and what to look for to prevent measurement errors.

On June 8 and 9, 2023, the second Asbestonomy took place in Brussels. We were also there to get the latest news on asbestos and the handling of this hazardous material in different regions of the world.

For years, baby powders made by Johnson & Johnson have been suspected of being contaminated with asbestos and causing cancer. The pharmaceutical company now faces tens of thousands of lawsuits and recently offered a settlement payment of 8.1 billion euros ($8.9 billion) to end the legal dispute. But how can asbestos get into baby powder in the first place? And are there indications that asbestos-contaminated cosmetics cause cancer? Read more in our news article.

As announced in our follow-up report to DCONex, the new Hazardous Substances Ordinance (GefStoffV) is due to be published in the 2nd quarter of 2023. But who does this regulation actually affect? And what are the most important changes in the new GefStoffV? Are there any innovations to the regulations for dealing with asbestos? Get an overview here.

The documentary "Asbestos – the never-ending story" shows that even today no one is entirely safe from this hazardous material. We took the time to critically examine the documentation from an expert's point of view.

At the end of January 2023, experts from the areas of hazardous building materials and existing buildings met for the tenth time at DCONex to find out about and exchange views on the latest developments. We also attended the conference in Essen and summarized some important topics of the event for you.

Have you seen it yet? We answer frequently asked questions – now also in video format. On our YouTube channel and in the FAQ section of our website, we provide audiovisual assistance with asbestos and asbestos analysis.

For the 31st time, the Forum Asbestos took place at the Haus der Technik in Essen on November 10th and 11th, 2022. In order to do justice to the continuing situation, this year there was the possibility to participate in person on site, as well as to join online. Here is a summary of our impressions of the conference.

By the end of 2022, the Association of German Testing Laboratories (vdu) would like to hold training at the vdu office in Hannover. As a member of the vdu, we are pleased to point out this interesting opportunity. 

Special care is required when handling asbestos. Asbestos dust can be released not only during renovation work but also when asbestos roofs are improperly cleaned. Those who disregard the regulations endanger themselves and their fellow human beings and risk heavy fines.

On September 13, 2022, the Gesamtverband Schadstoffsanierung e.V. (GVSS) offers an online workshop on VDI Guideline 6202 Sheet 3. As a member of the association, we are pleased to point out this interesting event.

A process developed jointly with MeyerundKuhl Spezialwäschen GmbH allows us to non-destructively test firefighters' clothing and other PPE for asbestos and artificial mineral fibers.

Blackbit was awarded the "Google Premium Partner" badge. This officially places the company among the 3% of the best Google agencies in Germany. We are not too surprised, but pleased, because we can only confirm: The Blackbit team knows what it's doing!

On November 11 and 12, 2021, the 30th Forum Asbestos took place at the Haus der Technik, Essen. After we were only able to participate in the online offerings of the conference in 2020, we were again on site in person at the 30th Forum. Here is a summary of our impressions of the event.

On December 7, 2021, the vdu office in Hanover will offer a training course on "Basic and Refresher Training on Drinking Water Sampling". As a member of the Association of German Testing Laboratories e.V. (vdu), we are pleased to point out this interesting event.

The ban on asbestos has been in effect in Germany for almost 30 years. This also means that common asbestos products such as fiber cement have been exposed to weathering since that time, especially on the exterior. What this means for the material and the eventual release of fibers has now been explored by a Norwegian research team [Ervik et al. 2021].

The workrooms and other critical points in the building of CRB Analyse GmbH have been equipped with air filtration systems from the company nanofiltec from Hamburg, Germany, due to current events.

Time and again, contractors and do-it-yourselfers have to answer to the courts for failing to comply with occupational safety and environmental protection measures in connection with asbestos.

In a recent technical paper in the journal Environmental Health Insights, U.S. scientists from the Environmental Working Group Washington and the Scientific Analytical Institute Greensboro warn of asbestos in cosmetic products.

Another postponement: there will be no INTERSCHUTZ 2021. The organizers of the leading international trade fair for firefighting, rescue, civil protection, and safety have decided to postpone the show for another year. The new date for INTERSCHUTZ Hannover is June 20-25, 2022.

The 29th Forum Asbestos took place in Essen at the beginning of November. Due to the worsening infection situation, we did not have a booth on site this year but participated in the online offerings of the event. We have summarized some impressions of the event for you in this follow-up report.

The translation of our website into Italian is the next milestone on the way to further opening up international markets. We are honored and highly motivated that customers abroad also trust in our expertise. Making our website available in Italian, after English and French, is, therefore, a logical and necessary step for us.

Catch-up date for the vdu training course "LAGA PN 98" scheduled for September 16, 2020. vdu office in Hanover is investigating the level of interest and requests notification of the number of participants.

The leading trade fair for fire, rescue, civil protection and security will be postponed from this year's June to June 2021 due to the current pandemic situation.

Despite the critical situation, we are still fully operational thanks to targeted internal measures.

Due to the continuing spread of the novel coronavirus, IFAT 2020, which was originally scheduled for May 4 to 8, will unfortunately be postponed.

Due to the continuing high demand, a vdu training course on "LAGA PN 98" will be held again this year - on 10 June 2020 in Hannover. As a member of the Verband Deutscher Untersuchungslaboratorien e.V. (vdu) we would not like to refrain from pointing out this worthwhile event for the benefit of all interested parties.

This month, a special issue of the Journal of Environmental & Engineering Geoscience on 'Naturally Occurring Asbestos, NOA' has been published as a summary of the IAEG & AEG Symposium in San Francisco in September 2018.

The trade show covers all aspects of analysis, remediation, demolition, waste disposal, and prevention. We’ll be there!

At the beginning of January, ARD reported on asbestosis and the problem of its recognition as an occupational disease by the employers' liability insurance association. Sick people are still finding it difficult to prove that they have asbestosis, which is why they are usually not entitled to an accident pension.

Innovation award for a process developed by MeyerundKuhl Spezialwäschen GmbH together with CRB for the analysis of possibly contaminated fire brigade clothing for asbestos and artificial mineral fibres.

Whenever independent building measures are carried out in your own household: tenants are often left in ignorance. It is essential to know whether asbestos has been used in your own home and what dangers you may be exposed to.

On January 22 and 23, the DCONex congress with accompanying exhibition will take place in Essen. As an expert for asbestos analysis, we will again be represented with our own stand at the trade fair for harmful substances.

CRB develops in cooperation with MeyerundKuhl Spezialwäschen GmbH a non-destructive method for the analysis of potentially contaminated fire brigade clothing on asbestos and artificial mineral fibres

On 24 September 2019, the vdu training course "LAGA PN 98" will take place in Hanover. As a member of the Association of German Research Laboratories e.V. (vdu) we would like to draw your attention to this interesting event.

Under the title "Radon and asbestos - invisible enemies in the house" the 8th symposium "Der Bausachverständige" took place in Cologne. Read our follow-up report here.

MeyerundKuhl Spezialwäschen GmbH, based in Hardegsen, cleans and impregnates outdoor clothing for customers throughout Europe. The Göttinger Tageblatt reports on the successful start-up with which we recently developed a test method for the decontamination of asbestos in firefighting clothing.

Our experts welcome you at the 8th symposium "Der Bausachverständige" (The Building Expert) in Cologne on June 5. The focus of this year's event is on indoor pollutants radon and asbestos.

In fire situations, firefighters are exposed to a variety of hazardous substances, including asbestos. In cooperation with the MeyerundKuhl specialist laundry, CRB has developed a test procedure to check whether fire-fighting textiles can be sufficiently decontaminated by washing and impregnation.

We report on our impressions of DCONex 2019, which took place on 30 and 31 January in Essen. For the first time we were represented at the fair with our own stand.

As a member of the Verband Deutscher Untersuchungslaboratorien e.V. (vdu) we would like to draw your attention to an interesting training on the topic "LAGA PN 98" in September 2019. If you are interested in attending, please contact the vdu until March 1st.

In order for international interested parties to recognize us easily and quickly as a trustworthy supplier, we have had our end customer shop tested according to the quality and safety criteria of Trusted Shops.

Our laboratory will be closed on 24 and 31 December. On 27 and 28 December, however, we will be on duty for you at the usual times.

When renovating asbestos-containing floor coverings, asbestos-containing adhesive residues often remain after dismantling the floor coverings. This adhesive must not merely be covered or sealed, according to a decision by the Arnsberg Administrative Court.

Dr. Gunnar Ries and Dr. Stefan Pierdzig take part at the 'Round Table' of the SBB to examine tarboard waste for carcinogenic fibres.

Disposal and processing companies demand that roofing felt waste be tested for asbestos and artificial mineral fibres.  SBB demands that the 'BIA method 7487', which is not suitable in every case, be used as the type of test.

The dangers of asbestos are still underestimated today. In the special issue "Inhabergeführte und Familienunternehmen" ("Owner-managed and family-owned companies"), the magazine Charakter reported on our testing laboratory and explained the dangers of the prohibited substance, which is still hidden in many building materials today.

In September 2018, the AEG and IAEG held a joint congress in San Francisco. Our colleague Dr. Stefan Pierdzig gave a lecture on asbestos and reported on his impressions.

Asbestos is and remains a danger for do-it-yourselfers: only an analysis of suspicious building materials and building substances provides certainty. To make it even easier for our customers to have their samples tested for asbestos, we have set up a new customer shop together with the digital commerce agency Blackbit.

Why asbestos causes certain diseases such as asbestosis or "asbestosis" has not yet been conclusively proven. Analytik News reported that researchers have found out how asbestos fibres damage the body in such a way.

CRB has purchased a fourth scanning electron microscope which will be put into operation in March 2018. This represents a 33% increase in capacity for the asbestos analysis laboratory.

Results of current round robin tests on asbestos analysis and X-ray fluorescence analysis published

The Göttinger Tageblatt reported today that Blackbit was the only agency in southern Lower Saxony to be awarded the quality certificate for search engine advertising. We would like to congratulate our long-standing partner Blackbit on this award - the outstanding online marketing strategy and digital sales of CRB's asbestos analyses speak for themselves.

At the beginning of the year, the Göttinger Tageblatt took our 25th anniversary as an opportunity to report on the history and development as a future-oriented asbestos analysis laboratory from Hardegsen. The central topic was the expansion of the successful digital strategy in Europe, which primarily supports private customers in identifying dangerous asbestos fibres in their homes and yards.

In order to ensure the quality of our test procedures, we regularly take part in interlaboratory comparisons. Because only the external control of a laboratory allows statements about the 'correctness' and comparability of measurement results. Last year, we were able to shine with 100 percent accurate results in all four interlaboratory comparisons of our asbestos analysis process.

Under the heading "On the trail of the elements" Mr. Niko Mönkemeyer from the HNA reported about our laboratory and interviewed our managing director Ralf Klaus Blecher about the development of the company and the importance of modern analysis technology.

What does it look like in an asbestos testing laboratory? Explore our offices and labs with Google Street View to see how we test your samples for hazardous substances such as asbestos or artificial mineral fibres using accredited analytical methods.

Inconsistent requirements of the new VDI 3866, Sheet 5 of June 2017 on sample preparation and analysis of asbestos samples complicate the work in the asbestos laboratory when testing plasters, fillers and tile adhesives with asbestos contents < 1 mass percent.

New research results on the bio-resistance of asbestos in the lungs confirm the dangers of asbestos

CRB bulits up new sample storage system with space for up to 28,000 specimens

CRB buys 3rd SEM, a Quanta 650 from FEI, to expand its laboratory capacity.

The new version of the guideline VDI 3866, part 5 leaves the draft stage after 2 years.

Since April 24, 2017, Dr. Breitenstein, a graduate chemist, has strengthened the CRB team in the field of asbestos analysis.

Results of recent collaborative studies on X-ray fluorescence analysis, asbestos analysis and X-ray microanalysis published.

Moratorium of the Bundesrat of 16 December 2017 concerning the disposal of HBCD-containing wastes due to start-up difficulties in implementing the POP regulation in effect since 30 September 2016…

In Germany, insulating materials made from polystyrene (PS) – Styrofoam with a content of HBCD higher than 1000 ppm are classified as hazardous waste since the 30th of September 2016 according to so-called POP-regulation, part of the Stockholm convention list and the German Waste Catalogue, Abfallverzeichnisverordnung, AVV.

The ammendment of guideline VDI 3866, part 5, in draft state since 07/2015, recommends extended techniques for preparation and analysis ...

Results of recent collaborative studies on X-ray fluorescence analysis, asbestos analysis and X-ray microanalysis published.

Information on prices for SEM-analysis, microanalysis, image-formation

Dr. Gunnar Ries reports on lectures concerning the topic of asbestos in filler and plasters at the DCONex fair in Essen, January 13th-15th

We have converted our reporting system for the analysis of material samples for asbestos as of July 23rd, 2015.