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Asbestos and Fibrous Erionite

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Asbestos and Mesothelioma

Part of the book series: Current Cancer Research ((CUCR))

Abstract

Very narrow fibrils forming bundles of parallel fibers characterize the asbestiform habit. The width of fibrils varies among asbestos types and among occurrences of the same type. The known asbestiform amphiboles have the composition of anthophyllite, tremolite-actinolite-ferroactinolite (prieskaite), cummingtonite-grunerite (amosite and montasite), magnesioarfvedsonite-arfedsonite, magnesioriebeckite-riebeckite (crocidolite), winchite (Libby amphibole), richterite, and fluoro-edenite-edenite. Amphiboles are common rock-forming minerals that normally occur in a prismatic or massive habit and are not asbestos. The most widely exploited type of asbestos is chrysotile, a member of the serpentine group of minerals. Erionite is a fibrous zeolite; when asbestiform, it is called woolly erionite. This chapter describes the characteristics of these minerals as they occur in an asbestiform habit.

The author has served as a consultant on mineral occurrence, identification, and characterization.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Aâ–¡ means the structural site A is empty.

  2. 2.

    Miller Indices, e.g., {110}, are used to designate the orientation of planes within a crystal structure. A detailed discussion can be found in Bloss (1971) or other mineralogy textbooks.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, Department of Geology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Ann G. Wylie

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Correspondence to Ann G. Wylie .

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  1. Cancer Biology Program, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Joseph R. Testa

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Wylie, A.G. (2017). Asbestos and Fibrous Erionite. In: Testa, J. (eds) Asbestos and Mesothelioma. Current Cancer Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53560-9_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53560-9_2

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