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Anthophyllite Asbestos: The Fiber That Started It

Reviewed by Justinian C. Lane, Attorney Last reviewed June 2026

Anthophyllite is one of the six minerals regulated as asbestos under US law. It's a magnesium-rich fiber from the amphibole family of asbestos, and it was mined commercially in Finland, the southeastern United States, Japan, and a few other countries from the late 1800s until 1980. Like every other type of asbestos, anthophyllite causes mesothelioma (a cancer of the lining of the lungs or abdomen), lung cancer, and asbestosis (permanent scarring of the lungs).1 People are still exposed today through old building materials, industrial equipment, and talc that was contaminated with anthophyllite.

If you or a family member worked around anthophyllite, or lived near a plant that processed it, and you've been diagnosed with an asbestos disease, call 833-4-ASBESTOS to find out whether you have a claim.

You don't need the product names or old records. No fee unless we recover compensation for your family.

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The mineral that started the American asbestos industry

In 1858, a young inventor named Henry Ward Johns began experimenting with asbestos he had found on Staten Island, New York. That mineral was anthophyllite. Johns worked out how to combine the fibers with burlap and tar to make fireproof roofing, and in 1868 he founded the H.W. Johns Manufacturing Company to sell it. The company grew into one of the giants of American industry. In 1901 it merged with the Manville Covering Company to form Johns-Manville, the company that would become synonymous with asbestos in America for the rest of the century.2

Johns did not live to see the merger. He died in 1898 at the age of 61. His death certificate listed the cause as "dust phthisis," the wasting lung disease that doctors of the era recognized in workers who breathed fibrous dust year after year. It would be decades before medicine gave that disease its modern name: asbestosis. The man who founded the American asbestos industry was killed by his own product, and the fiber that killed him was anthophyllite.3

That history matters, because anthophyllite is often brushed aside today as a "non-commercial" asbestos fiber, as if it were too rare to have harmed anyone. That isn't true. The American asbestos industry began with anthophyllite. Finland alone mined roughly 350,000 metric tons of it between 1918 and 1975 and shipped about 230,000 tons abroad, much of it to the United States.4 A single American plant imported 4.5 million pounds of Finnish anthophyllite in just eight years. Wherever the fiber went, disease followed.

For an overview of all six asbestos minerals and the diseases they cause, see our main asbestos minerals page.

What is anthophyllite?

Anthophyllite is a naturally occurring fibrous mineral. It belongs to the amphibole branch of the asbestos family, which means its fibers are straight, stiff, and needle-like. That shape is part of what makes amphibole asbestos so dangerous. Once the fibers are breathed in, the lungs can't easily clear them, so they stay lodged in the tissue for decades.5

What set anthophyllite apart from other asbestos types was its chemistry. It's high in magnesium and low in iron, which gave it a pale, almost white color and made it stand up to acid and high heat better than most other asbestos. Those traits made it useful in chemical plants and other harsh settings. They did nothing to make it safer to breathe.

The mineral got its name in 1801 from a Danish-Norwegian mineralogist, Christian Friedrich Schumacher, who thought its radiating crystal clusters looked like dried clove buds. The name comes from the Latin word for clove.6 For its first hundred years anthophyllite was mostly a collector's curiosity. Its industrial life began in eastern Finland in 1918.

The mineralogy in depth: chemistry, crystal structure, and how anthophyllite compares to the other five asbestos minerals

Chemical composition

Anthophyllite's chemical formula is (Mg,Fe)₇Si₈O₂₂(OH)₂, which makes it a magnesium iron silicate hydroxide in the amphibole group. In plain terms, the formula tells us it's built mostly from magnesium, with some iron, bonded to silicon, oxygen, and a small amount of water (the OH part).7

The "(Mg,Fe)" notation means magnesium and iron sit in the same spots in the crystal, with magnesium usually filling about 85 percent or more of them. That magnesium-heavy makeup is what gives anthophyllite its pale color and its acid resistance.

This is also what separates anthophyllite from amosite, its chemical twin. Amosite has the identical formula, but with iron dominating instead of magnesium. The two minerals sit at opposite ends of the same chemical range: amosite's iron makes it brown and seawater-resistant, while anthophyllite's magnesium makes it pale and acid-resistant. The chemical difference never translated into a safety difference. Anthophyllite causes the same diseases as every other type of asbestos.

Crystal structure

Like all amphibole minerals, anthophyllite is built from double chains of silicon and oxygen, held together by strips of magnesium and iron. What's unusual is the symmetry of that structure. Anthophyllite is "orthorhombic," while the other asbestos amphiboles are "monoclinic." Here's the difference in everyday terms:

  • Orthorhombic crystals have three axes that all meet at right angles but are different lengths, like a standard brick. Anthophyllite is the only one of the six regulated asbestos minerals that crystallizes this way.
  • Monoclinic crystals are like a brick that's been pushed sideways into a slant. Amosite, tremolite, actinolite, crocidolite, and chrysotile are all monoclinic.

These structural and chemical differences affect how the fibers split, bend, and react to chemicals, which is part of why anthophyllite resists acid and heat better than the monoclinic types. From a health standpoint, though, the distinction means nothing. Both structures produce fibers that cause mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis.7

In its fibrous form, Finnish anthophyllite was bright white, and the industry promoted that whiteness as an advantage over the gray and brown fibers of other amphiboles.

How anthophyllite compares to the other asbestos minerals

Mineral Chemical formula Main metals Crystal system Mineral group
Anthophyllite (Mg,Fe)₇Si₈O₂₂(OH)₂ Magnesium, iron Orthorhombic Amphibole
Amosite (Fe,Mg)₇Si₈O₂₂(OH)₂ Iron, magnesium Monoclinic Amphibole
Crocidolite Na₂Fe₃²⁺Fe₂³⁺Si₈O₂₂(OH)₂ Sodium, iron Monoclinic Amphibole
Tremolite Ca₂Mg₅Si₈O₂₂(OH)₂ Calcium, magnesium Monoclinic Amphibole
Actinolite Ca₂(Mg,Fe)₅Si₈O₂₂(OH)₂ Calcium, magnesium, iron Monoclinic Amphibole
Chrysotile Mg₃Si₂O₅(OH)₄ Magnesium Monoclinic Serpentine

The magnesium-rich, low-iron makeup that made anthophyllite commercially useful is the same chemistry that made it dangerous. All amphiboles share the same double-chain structure, and that structure produces rigid, long-lasting fibers no matter which metals fill the crystal. Anthophyllite fibers stay in lung tissue for decades and cause the same diseases as crocidolite and amosite. As the Finnish health records below show in detail, anthophyllite's "superior" chemistry offered no protection at all against asbestos disease.

Physical properties

Property Value What it meant
Color White (Finnish commercial grade) Lighter than amosite (brown) or crocidolite (blue)
Luster Vitreous to silky Fibrous forms have a silky sheen
Hardness About 5.5 (Mohs scale) Harder than chrysotile, an advantage in wear-resistant products
Specific gravity 2.85 to 3.2 Lower end of the amphibole range
Crystal system Orthorhombic The only one of the six regulated asbestos minerals with this structure
Thermal stability Stable to about 900°C (1,652°F) Held up under extreme heat
Chemical resistance Excellent acid resistance Better than chrysotile
Moisture absorption Very low Lower than chrysotile at every humidity level

The two properties that mattered most in industry were acid resistance and heat resistance. At 96 percent humidity, anthophyllite absorbed only about 0.92 percent moisture, compared to chrysotile's 2.53 percent, nearly three times less. Its structure stayed stable up to about 900°C, so it would not blister at high heat the way chrysotile does. And unlike chrysotile, which breaks down in acid, anthophyllite held together when exposed to corrosive chemicals.8 Those traits defined its commercial niche: wherever a product needed asbestos reinforcement in a setting that was hot, wet, or chemically aggressive, anthophyllite was often the fiber of choice.

Where anthophyllite came from and what it was used for

Anthophyllite was mined on a real, commercial scale in several places. Finland was the world's largest producer by a wide margin, mostly from a mine at Paakkila that ran from 1918 to 1975. The United States mined it too, mainly in Georgia and North Carolina, from the 1890s until the last American mine closed in 1980. Japan, South Africa, and a few other countries produced smaller amounts.4

Because it stood up to acid and heat, anthophyllite went into products where ordinary asbestos would have broken down. The pathways below are the ones most likely to have exposed workers and their families:

  • Corrosion-resistant industrial equipment (Haveg). One of the biggest American uses of Finnish anthophyllite was a line of molded asbestos-and-resin products sold under the Haveg brand. These were structural pieces of equipment for chemical, petroleum, textile, and metal plants: tanks up to 10 feet across, reaction kettles, scrubbing towers, pipe and fittings, valves, fume ducts, evaporators, and more. Workers who built, installed, repaired, or tore out Haveg equipment breathed anthophyllite, and a lot of this equipment is still being removed today.9
  • Welding rod coatings. During World War II and the buildup that followed, anthophyllite was used heavily to coat welding rods. Welders in shipyards, military vehicle production, and industrial construction were exposed. This pathway has received very little attention.
  • Vinyl floor tile. A North Carolina mine near Spruce Pine was developed specifically to supply anthophyllite for vinyl floor tile. The biggest exposure risk today comes during renovation and demolition, when old tile is scraped up or broken.
  • Home and building insulation. A Montana product sold under the name "Karstolite" put anthophyllite directly into the walls and ceilings of homes.
  • Acid-resistant cements, sorel cement flooring, foundry materials, drilling muds, paints, and putties. Anthophyllite was used across the chemical and industrial world wherever acid resistance mattered.

For more on the kinds of products that contained asbestos, see our guide to asbestos-containing products.

The full mining record: US operations state by state, the Powhatan Mining Company, the Finnish industry, and deposits around the world

The mineral content on this site draws on a systematic review of 88 consecutive USGS Minerals Yearbook chapters on asbestos, spanning 1932 through 2024, the complete run of the federal government's annual reporting on the American asbestos industry. These yearbooks, published first by the Bureau of Mines and later by the US Geological Survey, recorded production figures, imports and exports, end uses, pricing, and corporate developments. They were written by federal scientists with no stake in litigation, and they form the definitive government record of the rise and fall of the asbestos industry in the United States.10

Anthophyllite holds a unique place in that record: it was the only amphibole asbestos with sustained US production. Amosite came only from South Africa, and crocidolite only from South Africa, Australia, and Bolivia, but anthophyllite was mined in Georgia, North Carolina, and other southeastern states for decades. The domestic industry was small, rarely more than a few thousand tons a year, but it was persistent, and the yearbooks tracked specific mines, operators, and end uses across many decades.

The United States, state by state

Georgia produced anthophyllite from the 1880s onward, including long-fibered material near Burton in Rabun County and acid-filtering fiber near Statham in Barrow County. The Powhatan Mining Company later extended Georgia production into the 1940s near Dillard and Statham.

North Carolina became the heart of American anthophyllite mining. Yancey County's deposits supported several operators during World War II before consolidating under one company afterward. Industrial Minerals Corporation opened a property near Newdale in 1942 and quickly became the largest US amphibole asbestos producer, driven by wartime demand for welding-rod coatings. The Bluerock mine near Spruce Pine, developed by a subsidiary of the Mastic Tile Corporation, supplied anthophyllite for vinyl floor tile.

Other states appear in the record in smaller amounts. South Carolina entered the list in 1939 with shipments near Pickens. Virginia had occurrences near Bedford and Rockymount. Maryland hosted the Powhatan-operated Jenkins mine near Pylesville. Montana had a deposit near Gallatin Gateway that became the "Karstolite" insulation product, and a separate operation near Libby that was first recorded as anthophyllite in 1937. Washington produced a few tons in Skagit County in 1932.

The Powhatan Mining Company: America's amphibole dynasty

The Powhatan Mining Company of Woodlawn, Baltimore deserves recognition as the most significant amphibole asbestos company in American history. A systematic review of USGS data from 1932 through 1980 shows Powhatan operating mines across at least five states over nearly five decades, producing both anthophyllite and tremolite for industrial markets.

Its anthophyllite operations ran from the Jenkins mine in Maryland (1932 to 1937), through mines near Dillard and Statham, Georgia, to a series of North Carolina mines in Yancey, Jackson, and Transylvania counties that operated into the late 1970s. Its tremolite operations ran near Castella, California. The 1939 yearbook noted that Powhatan's Maryland plant "also handles anthophyllite mined in several Southern States," which confirms it served as both a mine and a distribution hub for fiber from across the Southeast.

Powhatan was the last company to mine anthophyllite in the United States. When it went out of business in 1979 to 1980, the USGS recorded that no anthophyllite was being mined in the country anymore. The end of Powhatan was the end of American anthophyllite.

The Finnish industry

Finland was the world's dominant anthophyllite producer. The Paakkila mine in the Tuusniemi commune of eastern Finland ran from 1918 to 1975, when it closed because of dust problems. A smaller mine at Maljasalmi ran from 1944 to 1952. Both were operated by Finska Mineral Ab, which had begun producing asbestos in 1917, with fiber shipped from southern Finnish harbors to customers across Europe and, through brokers, to the United States. Over its life, the Finnish industry produced roughly 350,000 metric tons of fiber and exported about 230,000 tons. This was by far the largest anthophyllite industry in world history.

In the United States, Finnish anthophyllite was distributed mainly through the Huxley Development Corporation, based in the Time and Life Building at Rockefeller Center in New York. Huxley sold the fiber to American manufacturers, including Bird and Son, a building products company in Massachusetts, promoting it as a filler for asphalt roof coatings and other products.

Fiber grades

The Finnish producer used the same testing equipment the Quebec chrysotile industry used, then layered its own letter-and-number grade codes on top. The grades ran from long fibers averaging about 6.5 millimeters down to fine dust grades averaging half a millimeter, each tailored to a particular product, such as acid-resistant cement, floor tile, or molded plastics.8 Unlike chrysotile, which was graded for strength, anthophyllite was usually graded as a filler chosen for chemical and heat resistance rather than for reinforcing strength.

Around the world

Japan ran a large open-pit anthophyllite mine at Matsubase, in Kumamoto Prefecture, from 1883 to 1970, one of the longest-running anthophyllite operations anywhere. South Africa was the only country to produce all five commercially mined asbestos types, though its anthophyllite output was tiny, from the Transvaal. Bulgaria, Brazil, India, and Canada all appear in the record with smaller or short-lived operations.

A note on mineral confusion

Identifying amphibole asbestos correctly was difficult before modern electron microscopy, and some early identifications were later revised. Powhatan's Maryland product was called anthophyllite from 1932 to 1937, then reclassified as tremolite in 1938. The Libby, Montana deposit was listed as anthophyllite in 1937 before later being identified as tremolite (and, later still, as winchite and richterite). This means older records that say "anthophyllite" may describe a different amphibole, and the reverse is also true. It doesn't change the health picture, because all of these fibers cause the same diseases, but it matters when reconstructing exactly what someone was exposed to.

Who was exposed to anthophyllite

You may have been exposed to anthophyllite if you, or someone whose dusty work clothes you were around, fits one of these descriptions:

  • Worked at an anthophyllite mine or mill, in Finland, Georgia, North Carolina, or another producing area
  • Built, installed, maintained, or removed Haveg corrosion-resistant equipment in a chemical, petroleum, textile, or metal plant
  • Welded with coated rods, especially in shipbuilding or military work during and after World War II
  • Installed, sanded, or removed older vinyl floor tile
  • Worked with acid-resistant cements, sorel cement flooring, foundry sand, or drilling muds
  • Lived near a plant that imported or processed anthophyllite
  • Used or were exposed to talc that was contaminated with anthophyllite, in cosmetic or industrial products

Family members were exposed too. Asbestos fibers traveled home on work clothes, hair, and skin. Spouses who shook out and washed laundry, and children who hugged a parent coming off shift, have developed mesothelioma from that secondhand exposure, often called "take-home" exposure.

Anthophyllite also shows up as a contaminant in talc. Talc and anthophyllite often form in the same kind of rock, so some talc deposits carry anthophyllite fibers mixed in. Talc from the Gouverneur district of upstate New York is a well-documented example, and anthophyllite has been found alongside tremolite in cosmetic talc products. This is one reason talc lawsuits remain active today.

Health risks

All forms of asbestos cause the same group of diseases: asbestosis, mesothelioma, lung cancer, and cancers of the larynx and ovary.1 For how these diseases develop and what symptoms to watch for, see our page on asbestos-related diseases.

Anthophyllite's fibers are straight and rigid, so they lodge deep in the lungs where the body can't clear them. The Finnish fiber studies found anthophyllite fibers with a typical length of about 5 micrometers and a width of about 0.35 micrometers, well within the range known to cause disease.11 The fibers stay embedded for decades, driving the slow process of inflammation, scarring, and DNA damage that turns exposure into disease, often 20 to 50 years later.

What makes anthophyllite's health record so clear is that, unlike tremolite or actinolite, it was mined on a large enough scale to study an entire workforce. The Finnish data, gathered over more than fifty years, leaves no room for doubt.

Disease in Finnish miners

The first reports of anthophyllite disease came out of Finland in the 1940s.12 By the 1970s, large studies of Finnish miners and millers found that about a third of workers with six or more years of exposure had asbestosis, rising to 47 percent among those with 24 or more years.13,14 A study of Finnish asbestos workers found a sharply raised risk of lung cancer: more than three times normal for heavily exposed workers.13 By the late 1980s, Finland was reporting around 50 cases of mesothelioma a year, triple the rate of the 1970s, and most of those patients had a documented history of anthophyllite exposure.11

Mesothelioma from anthophyllite alone

A defense lawyer in an asbestos case will sometimes argue that a different fiber, not the one in question, must have caused the disease. For anthophyllite, that argument has been answered directly. Researchers studied four Finnish miners who developed mesothelioma. In the three cases where lung tissue was analyzed, the only asbestos fiber found was anthophyllite. No crocidolite, no amosite, no chrysotile. Anthophyllite by itself, at a high enough dose, causes mesothelioma. That is settled, published science.15

The paperboy: mesothelioma from simply living nearby

The most striking American case was reported in 2001. A man born in 1956 grew up about three-quarters of a mile from a plant that imported Finnish anthophyllite and made tanks and piping from it. He went to elementary school a quarter mile from the factory. He played in a field between the school and the plant. He delivered newspapers throughout the neighborhood. He remembered visible white dust from the plant settling on the ground and on leaves. A 1978 inspection of the plant confirmed that a rooftop blower was scattering asbestos fibers into the surrounding air.

He left for college in 1974 and never had any other asbestos exposure. He became a physician's assistant. He never smoked. In 1994, at the age of 38, he was diagnosed with mesothelioma. Analysis of his lung tissue found anthophyllite fibers, the same fiber the plant had used.16

He was never an asbestos worker. He was a paperboy.

Environmental disease in Finland and Japan

The same pattern shows up in entire communities near anthophyllite mines. In Finland in 1960, a researcher documented 800 cases of pleural plaques (scarring on the lining of the lungs that marks asbestos exposure) in people who had only environmental exposure, not jobs in the industry. Among residents over 65 in the mining districts, about 30 percent showed this scarring on chest X-rays.17,18 In Japan, a study near the Matsubase mine found that 9.5 percent of residents over 20 had pleural plaques.19 In both places, anthophyllite produced measurable disease across the general population, just from living nearby.

Were you or a family member exposed to anthophyllite?

If you've been diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, or asbestosis, and you think anthophyllite may have been involved, we can help you find out whether you have a claim. That includes exposure on the job, exposure brought home on a family member's clothes, exposure from living near a plant that processed the fiber, and exposure from contaminated talc. When you call, you reach our litigation team, not a screener. We'll talk through where and when you may have been exposed and explain your options. There's no fee unless we recover compensation for your family.

Call 833-4-ASBESTOS to speak with us about your case.

Is anthophyllite still a danger today?

Anthophyllite is one of the six minerals formally regulated as asbestos by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.1,20 The EPA's 2024 rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act banned the ongoing uses of chrysotile, the only asbestos type still imported and used in the country.21 In a separate 2024 evaluation, the agency assessed the other five fiber types, anthophyllite among them, along with Libby amphibole and asbestos-containing talc, and found that asbestos poses an unreasonable risk to human health, with further regulation to follow.22 For where asbestos regulation stands now, see our main asbestos page.

The Finnish mines closed in 1975 and the last American mine closed in 1980, but anthophyllite can still be encountered today. It turns up in products made during its commercial era, in the demolition and renovation of buildings that contain anthophyllite products such as old floor tile and insulation, in quarrying and construction that disturbs natural anthophyllite deposits, and as a contaminant in talc and other minerals.

Anthophyllite in the industry's own words

The asbestos industry wrote about anthophyllite in its trade journal, Asbestos, and in the patents it filed. These are the articles and patents in our library that discuss it.

In the trade journal

The journal followed anthophyllite from the 1920s, mostly through Finland, the world's largest producer, and through the small mines of North Carolina. Each link opens the article's page in that issue.

In patents

44 US patents in our library mention anthophyllite in their text, from 1929 to 1980. At least 8 were assigned to Johns-Manville. Two are for asbestos diaphragms in the electrolytic cells that make chlorine, among them Hooker Chemical's 1970 patent on an anthophyllite diaphragm.

Every patent that mentions anthophyllite (44), oldest first

Anthophyllite mines in our records

The documents in our library report 18 mines in 3 countries producing anthophyllite that was sold or shipped: the U.S. Bureau of Mines' and Geological Survey's yearbooks and the asbestos industry's trade journal, Asbestos. Each mine's page says who worked it and when, what it produced and which document says so.

Our records also name 11 other anthophyllite deposits and mines with no reported sales.

References

  1. IARC. Arsenic, Metals, Fibres, and Dusts. IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans, Vol 100C. International Agency for Research on Cancer; 2012.
  2. Johns-Manville Corporation. The Asbestos Story. Johns-Manville; 1958.
  3. Bowker M. Fatal Deception: The Untold Story of Asbestos. Rodale Press; 2003.
  4. Virta RL. Worldwide Asbestos Supply and Consumption Trends From 1900 to 2003. US Geological Survey Circular 1298. US Department of the Interior; 2006.
  5. Ross M. The geological occurrences and health hazards of amphibole and serpentine asbestos. In: Veblen DR, ed. Amphiboles and Other Hydrous Pyriboles — Mineralogy. Reviews in Mineralogy. Vol 9A. Mineralogical Society of America; 1981:279-323.
  6. Schumacher CF. Enumeratio Plantarum et Mineralium in Daniae, Norvegiae, et Sveciae Regnis Indigenarum. Typis E.A.H. Mölleri; 1801:142.
  7. Dana ES, Dana JD. Dana's New Mineralogy. 8th ed. Wiley; 1997.
  8. Finska Mineral Ab. Finnish Anthophyllite Asbestos Technical Bulletins, Nos. 2-20. Finska Mineral Ab; 1959-1964.
  9. Haveg Industries, Inc. Corrosion Resistant Equipment. Bulletin F-6. Haveg Industries; 1950.
  10. US Geological Survey. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos [annual chapters]. US Department of the Interior; 1932-2024.
  11. Tuomi T, Segerberg-Konttinen M, Tammilehto L, Tossavainen A, Vanhala E. Mineral fiber concentration in lung tissue of mesothelioma patients in Finland. Am J Ind Med. 1989;16(3):247-254.
  12. Wegelius C. Changes in the lungs in 126 cases of asbestosis observed in Finland. Acta Radiol. 1947;28(2):139-152.
  13. Meurman LO, Kiviluoto R, Hakama M. Mortality and morbidity among the working population of anthophyllite asbestos miners in Finland. Br J Ind Med. 1974;31(2):105-112.
  14. Ahlman K, Partanen TJ, Rintala E, Wiikeri M. Anthophyllite mining and milling as a cause of asbestosis. In: Biological Effects of Asbestos. International Agency for Research on Cancer; 1973:165-168.
  15. Karjalainen A, Meurman LO, Pukkala E. Four cases of mesothelioma among Finnish anthophyllite miners. Occup Environ Med. 1994;51(3):212-215.
  16. Rom WN, Hammar SP, Rusch V, Dodson R, Hoffman S. Malignant mesothelioma from neighborhood exposure to anthophyllite asbestos. Am J Ind Med. 2001;40(2):211-214.
  17. Kiviluoto R. Pleural calcification as a roentgenologic sign of non-occupational endemic anthophyllite asbestosis. Acta Radiol Suppl (Stockh). 1960;194.
  18. Noro L. Occupational and non-occupational asbestosis in Finland. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J. 1968;29(3):195-201.
  19. Hiraoka T, Ohkura M, Morinaga K, Kohyama N, Shimazu K, Ando M. Anthophyllite exposure and endemic pleural plaques in Kumamoto, Japan. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1998;24(5):392-397.
  20. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Asbestos. 29 C.F.R. § 1910.1001.
  21. US Environmental Protection Agency. Asbestos Part 1; chrysotile asbestos; regulation of certain conditions of use under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Fed Regist. 2024;89(61):21970-22010.
  22. US Environmental Protection Agency. Risk Evaluation for Asbestos, Part 2: Supplemental Evaluation Including Legacy Uses and Associated Disposals of Asbestos. US Environmental Protection Agency; 2024.

Key Sources

Bowles O. Asbestos. Bureau of Mines Bulletin 403. US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines; 1937.

Wagner JC, Berry G, Skidmore JW, Timbrell V. The effects of the inhalation of asbestos in rats. Br J Cancer. 1974;29(3):252-269.

Badollet MS. Asbestos, a mineral of unparalleled properties. Transactions of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. 1951;54:151-160.

Speil S, Leineweber JP. Asbestos minerals in modern technology. Environ Res. 1969;2(3):166-208.

Selikoff IJ, Lee DHK. Asbestos and Disease. Academic Press; 1978.

In the research library

The National Library of Medicine indexes 32 studies in our medical research library under anthophyllite. Among the most cited:

See all 32 studies on anthophyllite

In our case-law library

13 court decisions in our case-law library involve anthophyllite. Among them:

See all 13 decisions involving anthophyllite

Frequently asked questions

Is anthophyllite asbestos?

Yes. Anthophyllite is one of the six minerals regulated as asbestos under US law. It belongs to the amphibole group, the same group as crocidolite, amosite, tremolite, and actinolite.

Is anthophyllite still mined or used?

No. The Finnish mines closed in 1975 and the last US mine closed in 1980. But anthophyllite is still found in older products and is disturbed during renovation, demolition, and construction, so exposure still happens.

Can anthophyllite alone cause mesothelioma?

Yes. Researchers analyzed lung tissue from Finnish miners who developed mesothelioma and found anthophyllite as the only asbestos fiber present. Anthophyllite by itself causes mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis.

How were people exposed to anthophyllite?

The most common pathways were mining and milling, working with Haveg corrosion-resistant industrial equipment, welding with coated rods, installing or removing vinyl floor tile, working with acid-resistant cements and insulation, living near a processing plant, and using talc contaminated with anthophyllite.

Can you get sick from living near an anthophyllite plant?

Yes. A documented American case involved a man who developed mesothelioma at 38 after growing up near a plant that processed anthophyllite, without ever working with asbestos. Community studies in Finland and Japan also found asbestos-related scarring in residents who lived near the mines.

Is anthophyllite found in talc?

Yes. Talc and anthophyllite often form in the same type of rock, so some talc deposits contain anthophyllite fibers. Anthophyllite has been identified in both industrial and cosmetic talc, which is part of why talc lawsuits remain active.

What should I do if I think I was exposed?

If you've been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease and think anthophyllite may have been involved, call 833-4-ASBESTOS. You'll reach our litigation team, and there's no fee unless we recover compensation for your family.

Talk with an asbestos lawyer

Start with what you remember, and we'll take it from there.

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This page is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Every asbestos case turns on its own facts, exposure history, diagnosis, deadlines, available evidence, and applicable law. Reviewing this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, call 833-4-ASBESTOS for a free case review.