Asbestos in play sand
A letter in the New England Journal of Medicine (Oct. 2 issue) stated that a carbonate sand marketed in New Jersey was contaminated with 2 to 4 percent tremolite asbestos. The authors were called on by one of the federal agencies to repeat the analysis of this sand, specifically for its asbestos content. The sand was pulverized and immersed in oils with known refractive indexes, and the predominant amphibole was characterized by polarized light microscopy. The optical characteristics were noted, and the indexes of refraction were measured and found to be consistent with tremolite. On the basis of optical characterization, the authors concluded that all the tremolite visualized with light microscopy consisted of large, single cleavage fragments and was not asbestiform. They used the technique of x-ray diffraction, as did the author of the original report, which showed the presence of an amphibole mineral (probably tremolite) in the carbonate sand. The technique was not used, and cannot be used, to distinguish between the tremolite habits (asbestiform or nonasbestiform). An acid-insoluble residue, recovered from the carbonate sand, was examined by analytic electron microscopy. The tremolite grains were observed to consist of single untwinned, crystalline fragments. Few defects were noted. Selected area electron diffraction nets were indicative of fragments lying near or at the common amphibole cleavage plane. These characteristics are consistent with cleavage fragments and not asbestos. Aspect ratios reflected short particles (less than 5.1). On the basis of their examination of the carbonate play sand, they conclude that it did not contain tremolite asbestos.
- Research Organization:
- Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY
- OSTI ID:
- 6158660
- Journal Information:
- N.Engl. J. Med.; (United States), Vol. 316:14
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ASBESTOS
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
SAND
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
CONTAMINATION
CARBONATES
ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
NEW JERSEY
RESIDUES
SOILS
X-RAY DIFFRACTION
CARBON COMPOUNDS
COHERENT SCATTERING
DIFFRACTION
FEDERAL REGION II
MICROSCOPY
NORTH AMERICA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
SCATTERING
USA
510200* - Environment
Terrestrial- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)