WHAT IS TREMOLITE ASBESTOS, AND WHY IS IT SO DEADLY?"Asbestos" is a vernacular name given to a group of naturally occurring amphibole and serpentine minerals. Asbestos is more common in areas where mountain building has occurred. Normally, the minerals are locked up in the earth's crust, and in that form they are harmless to human health, but when asbestos dust is released into the earth's atmosphere by mining, refining, housing construction, or house remodeling, it becomes extremely deadly.
There are six minerals that are called "asbestos" and all of them are dangerous when they are in the form of dust particles (particularly dust particles larger than 5 microns in length, and with a length to width ratio of 5:1). 1 micron = 0.00003937 inch. In comparison, the grain size of talcum powder is a whopping 30-40 microns in diameter. Different asbestos minerals cause slightly different pathologies when inhaled. Tremolite dust is thought to be the most deadly.
The six asbestos minerals are:
•Actinolite Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2
•Amosite (asbestos variety of cummingtonite) (Mg, Fe)7Si8O22(OH)2
•Anthophyllite (Mg,Fe)7Si8O22(OH)2
•Crocidolite Na2Fe32+Fe23+Si8O22(OH)2
•Chrysotile Mg3Si2O5(OH)4
•Tremolite Ca2Mg5Si8O22(OH)2
How does tremolite asbestos make me sick?
All asbestos minerals are elongated crystals. Some varieties (such as actinolite/tremolite) are needle-like. When dust-size particles are inhaled, the crystals penetrate into the lung tissue by piercing the walls of the alveoli. Once the particles penetrate the lung tissue, they stay in the lungs permanently. There is no way to remove them. Eventually these crystals will cause a scarring of the lungs, called asbestosis, or cause a cancer of the lining (pleura) of the lung, called mesothelioma. Both of these diseases are currently incurable and both are terminal. Mesothelioma is almost exclusively linked to exposure to asbestos dust. In mesothelioma victims, the pleura of the lung becomes thick and leathery, and it loses its elasticity. Death from mesothelioma usually occurs as a progressive suffocation caused by fluid build-up around the lungs. Victims suffering from severe asbestosis have symptoms generally similar to the symptoms of terminal emphysema. Many researchers now believe that in past decades, some asbestosis cases were mis-diagnosed as emphysema. The effects of exposure to tremolite asbestos has not been studied as thoroughly as with other asbestos minerals (see also reference #4, below), but very preliminary research suggests that autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis sometimes precede the onset of symptoms of tremolite asbestosis and tremolite-induced mesothelioma cancer. Only time will tell if these diseases are warning signs for later tremolite asbestos disease.
As far as funding for medical research is concerned, mesothelioma is considered to be an "orphan disease", meaning that there are so few victims (when compared to other cancers) that the profitability of finding drugs or proceedures to treat the disease is low. Therefore, except for a couple studies supported by Federal grants, very little privately funded medical research is currently being done to find treatments for mesothelioma cancer.
Symptoms of exposure to tremolite asbestos dust can show up anytime from a couple years up to 40 years after first exposure. No "safe" exposure threshold for any of the asbestos minerals has been established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. All legislative efforts to place effective safety regulations or bans on asbestos in consumer products have failed, and an EPA ban was overturned by an appeals court in 1991. The legislative efforts have failed due to lobbying efforts by mining and energy corporations. W. R. Grace, and another company, Halliburton Corp., are only two of many obstructionist corporations in this regard. Even Canada, which exports large amounts of chrysotile asbestos into the U. S., has lobbied the U.S. Congress for no regulations on asbestos.
Is there anything I can do to prevent the onset of disease?
In a word, no. Once the asbestos dust has imbedded itself in the lungs, there are no proven preventative measures. However, just because you inhaled tremolite dust in the past doesn't mean that you will necessarily develop symptoms. Chest X-rays will diagnose tremolite asbestosis disease long before symptoms are noticed by the patient. From anecdotal evidence, it appears that a few people develop symptoms later in life than do other people. This phenomenon may be related to the particular genetic disposition of the individual and it needs to be investigated further. In any case, the onset of asbestos-related disease might be delayed a few years by practicing healthy life habits.
The first thing to do is to stop smoking. Smoking damages lung tissue and it damages DNA. Eat a diet rich in antioxidants (green leafy vegetables and orange-colored vegetables). Additionally, people who suspect that they may have been exposed to tremolite asbestos dust should get a flu shot every fall (even if they currently have no symptoms of asbestos-related disease). They should also be vaccinated for pneumonia. One theory (currently unproven) is that repeated lung infections increase the likelihood of the development, or the acceleration, of asbestos-related disease much later in life.
In what consumer products is tremolite asbestos a contaminant?
In the Libby, Montana area, tremolite asbestos is associated with a hydrated mica ore mineral called vermiculite. Vermiculite (trade name ZonoliteTM) was mined and was sold in housing insulation and as a soil conditioner for gardens. Libby's Rainy Creek Mine provided at least 80% of the world's supply of vermiculite. If you have ZonoliteTM vermiculite insulation in your house or in your garden, it probably came from the Libby mine. It has been shown that Libby's vermiculite insulation and potting soil that was sold to consumers contains tremolite asbestos as a contaminant. If you poured the ZonoliteTM into the attic or into the walls yourself, then you have been exposed to tremolite asbestos dust (even if you wore a hardware store dust mask).
The most common brands of asbestos-contaminated vermiculite insulation include, but are not limited to, the following consumer products:
•Zonolite Attic Insulation
•Attic Fill
•House Fill
•Home Insulation
•Zonolite Insulating Fill
•Econofil
•Quiselle Insulating Fill
•Sears Micro Fill
•Ward's Mineral Fill
•Wickes Attic Insulation
•Cashway Attic Insulation
•Attic Plus
•Unifil
•Mica Pellets Attic Insulation
How do I know if I have vermiculite on my property?
Vermiculite (ZonoliteTM) was sold mainly in the form of loose flakes. Look for the presence of shiney tan to golden-colored flakes in your insulation or in your garden soil and potting soil. The vermiculite often occurs as clumps of flakes, and it has the appearance of bellows on an accordion. Don't expect to see the asbestos. The tremolite dust that coats the vermiculite flakes is so fine that it is usually invisible to the unaided eye.
How can I safely remove the vermiculite from my house and property?
If you live in Libby, Montana, you're in luck. Libby has been declared a Superfund cleanup site, and the EPA has also declared a Public Health Emergency for the town. EPA will remove the vermiculite from your Libby property for free.
But if you live in another part of the United States, then you will have to pay an EPA-qualified business to remove the vermiculite. And the cost of removal isn't cheap.
Warning: Do not attempt to remove the vermiculite yourself. The removal process can expose the worker to dangerous levels of microscopic tremolite asbestos dust. If done improperly, the removal can contaminate a larger area of your property than was originally contaminated. Only hazardous waste specialists that are trained in vermiculite removal or asbestos removal should decontaminate your property. During the week or so of cleanup, your contaminated property (which might include your house) will be treated as a HAZMAT site. A special dust-control protocol, a special protective suit, and a special breathing apparatus are needed to protect the worker during the cleanup. Hardware store dust masks are ineffective at protecting the wearer.
References
[Persons who would like to receive a bound copy should contact ATSDR epidemiologist Steve Dearwent, toll free, at 1-888-422-8737. Callers should refer to the "Libby, Montana site"].
ISBN 1-55566-319-2. Buy it now.
Listen to a radio interview with the authors of An Air That KillsIf you believe that this is an inequity, and that the Federal government should pay for the clean up of all of America's contaminated vermiculite sites, write or call the head of the EPA at:
Director of the EPA
USEPA Headquarters
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20460
(202) 564-4700
And write your congressman, too!
This web page is dedicated to all who fight for a clean healthful environment.
Hell Creek Life © 1997-2009 Phillip Bigelow