A cluster of deaths from pleural mesothelioma was previously reported for Biancavilla, Italy, a city in eastern Sicily. An environmental survey suggested that the stone quarries located southeast of the city might be a source of asbestos exposure. The materials extracted from the quarries, used widely in the local building industry, contain large quantities of a fibrous amphibole that was initially referred to as an anomalous intermediate phase of sodium- and fluorine-rich tremolite-actinolite. A subsequent crystal chemistry investigation identified the mineral as fluoro-edenite, a new end-member of the edenite --> fluoro-edenite series. The material is very similar in morphology and composition to the minerals of the tremolite-actinolite series. To the authors' knowledge, fluoro-edenite becomes the 3rd mineral fiber (along with erionite and winchite), not yet classified as asbestos, with a demonstrable mesotheliomatogenous action in humans.
Pleural Mesothelioma Cases in Biancavilla are Related to a New Fluoro-Edenite Fibrous Amphibole / Pietro, Comba; Gianfagna, Antonio; Luigi, Paoletti. - In: ARCHIVES OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH. - ISSN 0003-9896. - STAMPA. - 58:4(2003), pp. 229-232. [10.3200/aeoh.58.4.229-232]
Pleural Mesothelioma Cases in Biancavilla are Related to a New Fluoro-Edenite Fibrous Amphibole
GIANFAGNA, Antonio;
2003
Abstract
A cluster of deaths from pleural mesothelioma was previously reported for Biancavilla, Italy, a city in eastern Sicily. An environmental survey suggested that the stone quarries located southeast of the city might be a source of asbestos exposure. The materials extracted from the quarries, used widely in the local building industry, contain large quantities of a fibrous amphibole that was initially referred to as an anomalous intermediate phase of sodium- and fluorine-rich tremolite-actinolite. A subsequent crystal chemistry investigation identified the mineral as fluoro-edenite, a new end-member of the edenite --> fluoro-edenite series. The material is very similar in morphology and composition to the minerals of the tremolite-actinolite series. To the authors' knowledge, fluoro-edenite becomes the 3rd mineral fiber (along with erionite and winchite), not yet classified as asbestos, with a demonstrable mesotheliomatogenous action in humans.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.