Crystal chemistry of natural occurring asbestos tremolite from calabrian ophiolites

Authors

  • Alessandro Pacella MINERALOGY and CRYSTALLOGRAPHY Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Roma
  • Paolo Ballirano Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5-I-00185 Roma, Italy
  • Henrik Skogby Swedish Museum of Natural History, Department of Geosciences, Box 50007, SE-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden
  • Federica Angelosanto Department of Medicine, Epidemiology, Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL), Rome, Italy
  • Angelo Olori Department of Medicine, Epidemiology, Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL), Rome, Italy
  • Annapaola Cannizzaro Department of Medicine, Epidemiology, Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL), Rome, Italy
  • Maria Rosaria Bruno Department of Medicine, Epidemiology, Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL), Lamezia Terme, Italy
  • Francesco Sinopoli 5Department of Medicine, Epidemiology, Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL), Lamezia Terme, Italy
  • Antonella Campopiano Department of Medicine, Epidemiology, Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL), Rome, Italy

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13133/2239-1002/17410

Keywords:

Tremolite, Naturally Occurring Asbestos (NOA), SEM-EDS, Mössbauer spectroscopy, Rietveld method

Abstract

The present work reports a detailed chemical and structural characterization of a fibrous tremolite sample from an abandoned serpentine quarry located in Mount Reventino (Calabria, Italy), by using SEM-EDS analysis, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and X-ray powder diffraction. Cell parameters, fractional coordinates and site scattering were refined using the Rietveld method. Results showed that the sample contains small amount of Fe, being the % ferro-actinolite content of ca. 3%. In particular, Fe2+ is preferentially allocated at M(1)+M(3) octahedral sites, and Fe3+ only occurs at M(2). Combining chemical, spectroscopic and structural data the following empirical formula has been derived:

A(Na0.124)Σ0.124M(4)(Ca1.922Na0.003Fe2+0.026Mg0.049)Σ2.000[M(1)(Mg1.960Fe2+0.040)Σ2.000M(2)(Mg1.963Fe3+0.024Fe2+0.013)Σ2.000 M(3)(Mg0.931Fe2+0.069)Σ1.000] [T(1)(Si3.946Al0.024)Σ3.970 T(2)(Si4.000)] O22 O(3)(OH2.000)Σ2.000.

Considering that both the presence of Fe and its coordination environment within the mineral structure are primary factors for pathological effects, the identification of Fe bearing asbestos tremolite in the investigated area may represent a potential hazard for human health.

Author Biography

Alessandro Pacella, MINERALOGY and CRYSTALLOGRAPHY Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Roma

Alessandro Pacella currently works as a researcher in Mineralogy at the Department of Earth Sciences of Sapienza University of Rome. His interests are keenly devoted to the study of crystal chemistry and surface reactivity of amphibole and zeolite fibres involved in environmental and health issues.

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Published

2021-07-06

Issue

Vol. 90 No. 3 (2021)

Section

ORE DEPOSITS and ENVIRONMENT

License

Copyright (c) 2021 Alessandro Pacella, Paolo Ballirano, Henrik Skogby, Federica Angelosanto, Angelo Olori, Annapaola Cannizzaro, Maria Rosaria Bruno, Francesco Sinopoli, Antonella Campopiano

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.