ASBESTOS ROOF DETECTION AND THEMATIC MAPPING IN PUGLIA, ITALY

During the '60 and '70 asbestos was used under the construction of roofs and for insulation of buildings and houses. Later, it was demonstrated that this particular material is dangerous for people's health and has not been used since. Today, it is important to create maps which shows where you find asbestos roofs to be able to monitor, and eventually substitute or fix, these roofs.

The Mivis hyperspectral scanner has 102 channels available and is able to define the spectral signature of a vaste amount of different materials. Among these you find asbesetos. Using this scanner CGR has been able to map the presence of asbestos roofs. 

In 2005 a project was executed for the Ministry of Interior in Italy which detected asbestos roofs in the Puglia region, Italy. Earlier, minor projects had been executed to detect these roofs, but never before had this application been used in a project covering a total surface of 20 000 sq.km. The flights had an altitude of 2 500 meters, with a pixel size of five meters. The general project was carried out for the National security and environmental control department in Italy, and the results formed basis for additional ground activities to ensure people's health.