Asbestos is a noun used to describe minerals that either occur as long silky fibers or can be easily split so as to become such. The asbestos minerals are currently sub classed into two main groups: (i) serpentines (e.g. chrysotile) and (ii) amphiboles (e.g., tremolite, riebeckite). It is now well recognized that fibrous amphiboles are significantly most dangerous than fibrous serpentines (…REF..). Therefore it is extremely important to characterise the fibrous amphiboles (natural and industrial) occurring in the environment as airborne dust, particularly with respect to their chemistry. Several parameters can in fact be retained responsible for their biological hazard, and these include the Fe content of the fiber, the absolute dimensions and aspect-ratio of the crystallite, the electrical surface potential, the solubility as a function of pH, and the hydrophobicity vs. hydrophilicity (….REF…): all these properties are notably dependent on their chemistry. A rather rapid, complete and accurate crystal-chemical investigations of (fibrous) amphiboles can be carried out by the combination of SEM, XRPD and FTIR OH-stretching data. We check this analytical protocol on a set of asbestos amphiboles from the Libby quarry, Montana (USA). These samples were previously studied and characterized by EPMA, Mössbauer and single crystal XRD (…REF). Comparison of our results, shows a good agreement with those given in the literature. This definitively indicates that the spectroscopic (FTIR) methods offer a very fast tool for a proper characterization of fibrous amphiboles in environmental monitoring.
DELLA VENTURA, G., Iezzi, G., Di Gioacchino, M., Bellatreccia, F., Verna, N., Mottana, A., et al. (2007). A rapid characterization of amphibole asbestos for toxicological applications: a case study from the Libby quarry (Montana, USA).
A rapid characterization of amphibole asbestos for toxicological applications: a case study from the Libby quarry (Montana, USA)
DELLA VENTURA, Giancarlo;BELLATRECCIA, FABIO;
2007-01-01
Abstract
Asbestos is a noun used to describe minerals that either occur as long silky fibers or can be easily split so as to become such. The asbestos minerals are currently sub classed into two main groups: (i) serpentines (e.g. chrysotile) and (ii) amphiboles (e.g., tremolite, riebeckite). It is now well recognized that fibrous amphiboles are significantly most dangerous than fibrous serpentines (…REF..). Therefore it is extremely important to characterise the fibrous amphiboles (natural and industrial) occurring in the environment as airborne dust, particularly with respect to their chemistry. Several parameters can in fact be retained responsible for their biological hazard, and these include the Fe content of the fiber, the absolute dimensions and aspect-ratio of the crystallite, the electrical surface potential, the solubility as a function of pH, and the hydrophobicity vs. hydrophilicity (….REF…): all these properties are notably dependent on their chemistry. A rather rapid, complete and accurate crystal-chemical investigations of (fibrous) amphiboles can be carried out by the combination of SEM, XRPD and FTIR OH-stretching data. We check this analytical protocol on a set of asbestos amphiboles from the Libby quarry, Montana (USA). These samples were previously studied and characterized by EPMA, Mössbauer and single crystal XRD (…REF). Comparison of our results, shows a good agreement with those given in the literature. This definitively indicates that the spectroscopic (FTIR) methods offer a very fast tool for a proper characterization of fibrous amphiboles in environmental monitoring.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
