Asbestiform

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Asbestiform is a crystal habit. It describes a mineral that grows in a fibrous aggregate of high tensile strength, flexible, long, and thin crystals that readily separate. [1] The most common asbestiform mineral is chrysotile, commonly called "white asbestos", a magnesium phyllosilicate part of the serpentine group, and erionite, a highly carcinogenic zeolite. [2] [3] Other asbestiform minerals include riebeckite, an amphibole whose fibrous form is known as crocidolite or "blue asbestos", and brown asbestos, a cummingtonite-grunerite solid solution series. Another Zeolite that has come to light recently that is asbestiform is fibrous Ferrierite. [4] [5]

The United States Environmental Protection Agency explains that, "In general, exposure may occur only when the asbestos-containing material is disturbed or damaged in some way to release particles and fibers into the air." [6]

"Mountain leather" is an old-fashioned term for flexible, sheet-like natural formations of asbestiform minerals which resemble leather. Asbestos-containing minerals known to form mountain leather include: actinolite, palygorskite, saponite, sepiolite, tremolite, and zeolite. [7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Committee on Asbestos: Selected Health Effects, 2006, Asbestos: Selected Cancers, National Academies Press, ISBN   978-0309101691
  2. ↑ Stevens, Michael E.; Paustenbach, Dennis J.; Lockhart, Noah J.; Busboom, Dalton E.; Deckard, Blake M.; Brew, David W. (15 March 2024). "The presence of erionite in North American geologies and the estimated mesothelioma potency by region". Inhalation Toxicology. 36 (3). Inhalation Toxicology: 158–173. doi:10.1080/08958378.2024.2322496. PMID   38583132 . Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  3. ↑ Scarfì, Sonia; Almonti, Vanessa; Mirata, Serena; Passalacqua, Mario; Vernazza, Stefania; Patel, Janki Prakash; Brook, Martin; Hamilton, Ayrton; Kah, Melanie; Gualtieri, Alessandro F. (January 2025). "In vitro cyto- and geno-toxicity of asbestiform erionite from New Zealand". Environmental Research. 265: 120415. doi:10.1016/j.envres.2024.120415 . Retrieved 29 November 2025.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link)
  4. ↑ Mattioli, Michele; Ballirano, Paolo; Pacella, Alessandro; Cangiotti, Michela; Di Lorenzo, Fulvio; Valentini, Laura; Meli, Maria Assunta; Roselli, Carla; Fagiolino, Ivan; Giordani, Matteo (14 May 2022). "Fibrous Ferrierite from Northern Italy: Mineralogical Characterization, Surface Properties, and Assessment of Potential Toxicity". Minerals. 12 (5): 626. doi:10.3390/min12050626 . Retrieved 29 November 2025.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  5. ↑ Gualtieri, Alessandro F.; Gandolfi, Nicola Bursi; Passaglia, Elio; Pollastri, Simone; Mattioli, Michele; Giordani, Matteo; Ottaviani, Maria Francesca; Cangiotti, Michela; Bloise, Andrea; Barca, Donatella; Vigliaturo, Ruggero; Viani, Alberto; Pasquali, Luca; Gualtieri, Magdalena Lassinantti (1 July 2018). "Is fibrous ferrierite a potential health hazard? Characterization and comparison with fibrous erionite". American Mineralogist. 103 (7): 1044–1055. doi:10.2138/am-2018-6508. 103844219. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  6. ↑ "More Information on Asbestos Removal". Total Asbestos Removal Brisbane. 2019-07-21. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  7. ↑ "Mountain Leather". www.mindat.org. Retrieved 2021-09-20.


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