Chrysotile asbestos migration in air from contaminated water: An experimental simulation

Avataneo, Chiara; Pétriglieri, Jasmine Rita; Capella, Silvana; Tomatis, Maura; Luiso, Mariagrazia; Marangoni, Giuliana; Lazzari, Elisa; Tinazzi, Silvio; Lasagna, Manuela; Luca, Domenico Antonio De; Bergamini, Massimo; Belluso, Elena; Turci, Francesco

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127528

Cited by 16 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 26 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Some of us ( Avataneo et al, 2022 ) have recently demonstrated that high level of waterborne chrysotile can generate an airborne fibres concentration that exceeds the WHO threshold of attention for outdoor ambient ( WHO, 2000 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A concentration in number of fibres per litre is fundamental to express because it can be directly correlated to the number of fibres which can possibly migrate to air ( Roccaro and Vagliasindi, 2018 ; Avataneo et al, 2022 ). Further investigation is needed to better understand why millions of waterborne fibres yield a few units in air, although these airborne fibres are above the attention threshold ( WHO, 2000 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Considering concentration in mass per litre, it is shown in Table 2 that the concentration found in water considering fibres with L > 5 µm is lower than the nominal concentration calculated based on the amount initially dispersed in water (137.40 μg/L). The standard chrysotile dispersed in water is partially composed by shorter fibres (length ≤5 µm) that are not counted under the adopted analytical method and, during water motion, longer and thicker bundles may undergo defibrillation achieving shorter lengths (L ≤ 5 µm) ( Avataneo et al, 2022 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since waterborne asbestos has not been routinely monitored in the past, it could be considered as an Emerging Pollutant (EP) in the water matrix ( Avataneo et al, 2022 ), leading to non-conventional exposure ways. Indeed, waterborne asbestos could be a secondary source of airborne asbestos linked to possible water-to-air migration, particularly relevant considering surface moving water, such as in rivers and streams.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Waterborne asbestos: Good practices for surface waters analyses

Avataneo

Capella

Luiso³

et al. 2023

Front. Chem.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Asbestos occurrence has been mainly monitored in air so far and only limitedly considered in other matrices, such as water. Waterborne asbestos could originate from natural or anthropogenic sources, leading to non-conventional exposure scenarios. It could be a secondary source of airborne asbestos in case of water-to-air migration, particularly in case of surface moving water, such as in rivers and streams. The scarce attention dedicated to waterborne asbestos has led to a considerable fragmentation in regulatory approaches regarding the study of water samples possibly contaminated by mineral fibres. In this context, this study has been designed to test the reliability of an existing analytical method devoted to natural waters investigations. Following the operational protocol issued by the Piedmont (Italy) Environmental Protection Agency, Scanning Electron Microscopy analyses have been performed on a standard sample of waterborne chrysotile, mimicking stream water. The investigations have been performed by different operators and using different analytical setups, to verify whether the method applied has a good interlaboratory reproducibility and which could be the most error-prone analytical steps. Three data sets have been obtained on the same sample, showing a low reproducibility among each other. Possible reasons causing this discrepancy have been discussed in detail and good practices to perform reliable analyses on surface water samples containing asbestos have been proposed to help the regulatory organs to better define analytical protocols.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Waterborne asbestos: Good practices for surface waters analyses

Avataneo

Capella

Luiso³

et al. 2023

Front. Chem.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…[6,30] Chrysotile from Balangero is currently of great interest in the evaluation of airborne and waterborne asbestos fibers in the proximity of the abandoned mine. [31][32][33] To date, the toxicity of chrysotile fibers from Balangero was deeply examined, and in vitro studies are currently in progress in inspecting the acute effects of this carcinogenic mineral. [7,[34][35][36] Chrysotile asbestos from Balangero belongs to the Balangero serpentinite of the Lanzo Ultramafic Massif, [26] has a typical crystal-chemical formula (Mg 5.81 Fe 2+ 0.15 Al 0.27 Fe 3+ 0.09 Cr 0.01 ) 6.33 (OH) 7.11 Si 3.97 O 10 , [25] and forms bundles of flexible fibrils with splayed ends.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of iron compounds in chrysotile from the Balangero mine (Turin, Italy) by micro‐Raman spectroscopy

Fornasini

Raneri

Bersani

et al. 2022

J Raman Spectroscopy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Chrysotile, one of the six regulated asbestos minerals, is classified as carcinogenic to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The Balangero mine (Turin, Italy) was the largest asbestos mine in Europe, providing extraction of chrysotile fibers until 1990. Chrysotile from Balangero is currently of great interest in fibers toxicity studies focused on the understanding of the mechanisms that induce lung malignancies. One of the crucial factors in the biochemical reactions is the presence of Fe at the fibers surface. Surface reactivity is responsible for the generation of reactive oxygen species, which play an important role in asbestos cyto‐genotoxicity. Moreover, the dissolution of Fe‐bearing phases in the acidic environment of the lysosomes might be considered as possible release of hazardous Fe ions in the lungs. Here, chrysotile from Balangero was characterized by micro‐Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope‐energy dispersive system (SEM‐EDS) analysis to identify the Fe‐bearing impurities associated with asbestos fibers. Micrometric crystals were recognized as Fe oxides, carbonates, and sulfides. Uncommonly reported phases in asbestos minerals were also identified, mainly as mackinawite (Fe(II)S), in different forms. The nature of the Fe compounds containing both Fe(II) and Fe(III) species was verified by micro‐Raman spectroscopy combined with SEM‐EDS analysis.

show abstract