Surface adsorption behaviour of amosite asbestos fibres as studied by SIMS and LAMMA

Abstract Laser microprobe mass analysis and secondary ion mass spectrometry were applied to the selective analysis of surface loadings of organic components on amosite fibres. The decreased intensity of the elemental constituents at the treated fibre surface as measured with LAMMA in laser desorption conditions was confirmed by real depth-profiling with SIMS. The results show that laser desorption mass spectrometry provides a useful tool for probing small changes in inorganic and organic surface composition.