Amphiboles: Environmental and Health Concerns

Gunter, Mickey E.; Belluso, Elena; Mottana, Annibale

doi:10.2138/rmg.2007.67.12

Cited by 78 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 129 publications

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“…The authors are aware that the identification of the fibrous morphology of minerals is not proof of the presence of asbestos minerals. In fact, both chrysotile and amphibole fibers hosted in serpentinite and metabasite rocks may exhibit intergrowth with other fibrous minerals at a submicrometric scale which are not classified as asbestos minerals (e.g., polygonal serpentine, fibrous diopside, fibrous antigorite and fibrous talc) [60] as well as fibrous erionite [61]. Therefore, characterization using p-µR was essential to confirm the previous hypotheses based on the chemical composition and morphological observations.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Multi-Analytical Approach for Identifying Asbestos Minerals In Situ

Bloise

Miriello

2018

Geosciences

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An innovative and, as yet, untested approach is to analyze serpentinite and metabasite rocks containing asbestos using a portable multi-analytical device, which combines portable digital microscopy (p-DM), portable X-ray Fluorescence (p-XRF) and portable micro-Raman Spectroscopy (p-µR). The analyses were carried out in two inactive quarries of serpentinitic and metabasitic rocks from the Gimigliano-Mount Reventino Unit (Southern Italy) already characterized in previous studies, with the aim of testing the efficiency of these portable tools. In this study, a portable X-ray fluorescence analyzer was used to obtain the in situ rapid chemical discrimination of serpentinite and metabasite rocks. The characterization of outcropping rocks using portable devices enabled us to detect the presence of chrysotile and asbestos tremolite. The results obtained were consistent with the findings from previous research studies and therefore combining p-DM, p-XRF and p-µR could be a useful approach for discriminating asbestos contained in outcropping rocks, especially when sampling is prohibited or for field-based sampling.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Multi-Analytical Approach for Identifying Asbestos Minerals In Situ

Bloise

Miriello

2018

Geosciences

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“…asbestos (e.g. Gunter et al, 2007). This 'opening' process causes fragmentation of larger into smaller parallelograms and occurs mainly along the traces of the (110) preferential cleavage plane (dashed white lines in Fig.…”

Section: Macroscopic and Stereomicroscopic Observationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Asbestiform sepiolite coated by aliphatic hydrocarbons from Perletoa, Aosta Valley Region (Western Alps, Italy): characterization, genesis and possible hazards

Giustetto

Seenivasan²,

Belluso

2014

Mineral. mag.

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An atypical asbestiform sepiolite occurrence with exceptionally long fibres wrapped by a sheath of aliphatic hydrocarbons was found in the Gressoney Valley (Italian Western Alps) while monitoring asbestos presence in outcrops of serpentinite rocks. Microscopic and Fourier transform infrared analyses proved that these fibres, apparently up to several cm long, are formed by bundles of thinner fibrils (average length: 150 μm) potentially dispersible in the environment. When observed using transmission electron microscopy these fibrils show a rhomboidal to parallelogram cross section (<1 μm), of which surfaces are covered mostly by an aliphatic hydrocarbon film – an association not reported in the literature. The sepiolite fibrils and their organic coating probably originated in sequential steps from precipitation of Si/Mg rich hydrothermal fluids, resulting from serpentinization of olivine and clinopyroxene and a Fischer-Tropsch-type reaction. The presence of hydrocarbons has serious implications for the sepiolite habit, as the organic wrap interacts with the fibril’s surface reducing the amount of adsorbed water and favouring the fragmentation of thicker units into thinner ones, due to an ‘opening’ process implying separation along z and cleavage on (110). This defibrillation mechanism, coupled with the extraordinary length, further increases the aspect ratio of these fibrils (length/width ≫3) thus amplifying their potential danger for human health when dispersed in air and inhaled.

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“…the length divided by its width), their negative effects on human health may increase as the particles reach a respirable size (e.g. Gunter et al, 2007). Non-shear structures (e.g.…”

Section: Rock Fabric Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Asbestos is the commercial term commonly used for six silicate minerals (World Health Organization, 1986;Gunter et al, 2007;Gunter, 2010). Due to its useful manufacturing properties, the use and commercialization of asbestos started already in archaeological ages.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Gibbons, 1998;Ross and Nolan, 2003;KazanAllen, 2005;de Grisogono and Mottana, 2009;Strohmeier et al, 2010) and that information on the asbestos hazard has multiplied in the last years (e.g. Gunter et al, 2007), asbestos is still an important threat to human health, particularly in urban settings where excavation, milling, and transportation of asbestos-bearing rocks during engineering activities (such as quarrying, tunnelling, and railways construction) potentially induce environmental risks for both workers and residents (e.g. Rohl et al, 1977;Schreier, 1989;Ross and Nolan, 2003;de Grisogono and Mottana, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Linking rock fabric to fibrous mineralisation: a basic tool for the asbestos hazard

Vignaroli

Rossetti

Belardi

et al. 2011

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. In recent years, many studies have addressed the effect on human health caused by asbestos exposures. As asbestos is a group of fibrous minerals that mainly occurs in mafic and ultramafic rocks (ophiolitic sequences), a close relationship between asbestos occurrence and the geological history of host rocks should be expected. By reviewing the existing literature and presenting characteristic examples, it is proposed a direct correspondence exists between the presence of fibrous minerals in ophiolites and the rock fabric systematics due to the combined activity of deformation, metamorphism/metasomatism, and rock/fluid interaction. Understanding the geological factors that may be at the origin of the nucleation/growth of fibrous minerals constitutes a necessary requirement for developing a methodological and analytical procedure to evaluate asbestos hazard (A H ) in the natural prototype (ophiolitic rocks). A parameterisation of the A H in function of the main geological processes that produce the rock fabric systematics in different tectonic/geodynamic settings is discussed. A geological multidisciplinary approach (based on geological-structural field evidence combined with textural, mineralogical, petrological, and geochemical investigations) is proposed as the prerequisite for the evaluation of A H in natural environments. This approach, in particular, can provide a robust basis to formulate a procedural protocol finalised to the mitigation of asbestos effects in environments where these effects are still a real threat.

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Amphiboles: Environmental and Health Concerns

Cited by 78 publications

References 129 publications

Multi-Analytical Approach for Identifying Asbestos Minerals In Situ

Multi-Analytical Approach for Identifying Asbestos Minerals In Situ

Asbestiform sepiolite coated by aliphatic hydrocarbons from Perletoa, Aosta Valley Region (Western Alps, Italy): characterization, genesis and possible hazards

Linking rock fabric to fibrous mineralisation: a basic tool for the asbestos hazard

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