This category covers the minerals the word asbestos actually refers to. Asbestos isn't a single substance but a group of naturally occurring fibrous minerals, and which one someone was exposed to can matter for both disease and the science of a case. These entries sort out the names, families, and look-alikes.
The minerals fall into two families. Chrysotile, or white asbestos, is a serpentine mineral and was by far the most widely used. The amphibole group includes amosite (brown asbestos), crocidolite (blue asbestos), and the tremolite-actinolite series, along with anthophyllite. Amphibole fibers are straight and needle-like and tend to persist in the lungs longer than curly chrysotile. You'll also find related minerals like the Libby amphiboles, erionite, and vermiculite, which carried asbestos contamination.
Entries cover mineral chemistry, the difference between asbestiform and non-asbestos forms, and terms like cleavage fragment that come up in scientific disputes. Every term below links to a full plain-language definition.
Terms in this category
- ActinoliteActinolite is a calcium-magnesium-iron silicate mineral in the amphibole group. It can occur in a non-fibrous…
- AmositeAmosite is a form of asbestos belonging to the amphibole mineral group, known for its straight, needle-like b…
- Amphibole AsbestosAmphibole asbestos is one of the two mineral families that make up asbestos, the other being serpentine (chry…
- Amphibole GroupA family of silicate minerals with elongated, needle-like or fibrous crystal structures. Five of the six comm…
- AnthophylliteAnthophyllite is one of the six regulated forms of asbestos and belongs to the amphibole family of minerals. …
- AntigoriteAntigorite is a serpentine mineral closely related to chrysotile (the form of asbestos used in most commercia…
- Asbestiform AnthophylliteAsbestiform anthophyllite is the fibrous, asbestos-grade variety of the mineral anthophyllite, a magnesium-ir…
- Asbestiform DiopsideAsbestiform diopside is a fibrous variety of the mineral diopside, a calcium-magnesium silicate in the pyroxe…
- Asbestiform TremoliteAsbestiform tremolite is the fibrous, asbestos-like form of the mineral tremolite, a calcium-magnesium silica…
- AsbestosAsbestos is the commercial and legal name for six naturally occurring silicate minerals that grow as long, th…
- Australian Blue AsbestosAustralian blue asbestos is crocidolite asbestos mined in Western Australia, most notoriously at the town of …
- BalangeroiteBalangeroite is a rare fibrous magnesium-iron silicate mineral that occurs alongside chrysotile asbestos at t…
- Bolivian crocidoliteBolivian crocidolite is the blue asbestos (a fibrous form of riebeckite) that was mined in Bolivia, principal…
- BruciteBrucite is a soft, white-to-pale-green mineral made of magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)₂). It commonly forms in se…
- Calcic AmphiboleCalcic amphiboles are a subgroup of the amphibole mineral family in which calcium is the dominant cation occu…
- Cape BlueCape Blue is the historical commercial name for crocidolite asbestos mined in the Northern Cape Province of S…
- Carbonate MineralA carbonate mineral is a naturally occurring solid built around the carbonate ion (CO₃²⁻) bonded with metals …
- CarlosturaniteCarlosturanite is a rare serpentine-like mineral, a hydrous magnesium silicate related to chrysotile and anti…
- ChloriteChlorite is a group of green, platy sheet-silicate minerals rich in magnesium, iron and aluminum. It commonly…
- ChrysotileChrysotile is a fibrous form of the mineral serpentine and is the most commonly used type of asbestos worldwi…
- CrocidoliteCrocidolite, commonly called "blue asbestos," is one of the six regulated asbestos minerals and the fibrous f…
- Cummingtonite-GruneriteThe cummingtonite-grunerite series is a family of iron- and magnesium-rich amphibole minerals that form a con…
- DiopsideDiopside is a common rock-forming mineral in the pyroxene group, chemically a calcium-magnesium silicate (CaM…
- DolomiteDolomite is a common carbonate rock and mineral made of calcium magnesium carbonate. It isn't asbestos itself…
- EdeniteEdenite is a calcium-bearing amphibole mineral closely related to tremolite, with extra sodium and aluminum i…
- erioniteErionite is a naturally occurring fibrous mineral in the zeolite family that, when inhaled, can cause mesothe…
- FerrihydriteFerrihydrite is a poorly crystalline iron oxyhydroxide mineral (approximate formula Fe₅HO₈·4H₂O) that forms a…
- Ferro-actinoliteFerro-actinolite is an iron-rich mineral in the amphibole family, sitting at the iron-dominant end of the tre…
- Ferromagnesian AmphiboleFerromagnesian amphiboles are a group of double-chain silicate minerals rich in iron and magnesium that inclu…
- fibrous antigoriteAntigorite is a serpentine-group mineral that usually forms in flat, platy crystals, but in some geological s…
- fluoro-edeniteFluoro-edenite is a fibrous amphibole mineral, similar in structure to other asbestos-type amphiboles, that o…
- ForsteriteForsterite is a magnesium-rich silicate mineral in the olivine group, with the chemical formula Mg₂SiO₄. It i…
- GoethiteGoethite is a common iron oxyhydroxide mineral (FeO(OH)) that forms a yellow-brown coating on many natural ma…
- HematiteHematite is a common iron oxide mineral (Fe₂O₃) that is the world's primary ore of iron, ranging in color fro…
- HornblendeHornblende is a common dark-colored mineral in the amphibole family, the same broad mineral group that includ…
- Libby amphibolesLibby amphiboles are a mixture of asbestiform amphibole minerals (primarily winchite, richterite, and tremoli…
- LizarditeLizardite is the most common variety of serpentine mineral, a hydrated magnesium silicate that forms platy (s…
- Magnesio-arfvedsoniteMagnesio-arfvedsonite is a sodium-rich amphibole mineral, the magnesium-dominant member of the arfvedsonite s…
- MagnesioriebeckiteMagnesioriebeckite is a sodium-bearing amphibole mineral in the riebeckite series, the magnesium-rich counter…
- Magnesium-Iron AmphiboleMagnesium-iron amphiboles are a family of double-chain silicate minerals whose composition is dominated by ma…
- MicaMica is a group of sheet-silicate minerals, such as muscovite, biotite and phlogopite, that split into thin, …
- OlivineOlivine is a common magnesium-iron silicate mineral that forms in ultramafic and mafic igneous rocks deep wit…
- Palygorskite (Attapulgite)Palygorskite, also sold as attapulgite, is a fibrous clay mineral made of magnesium, aluminum and silica. It …
- Pratap Anthophyllite-TremolitePratap anthophyllite-tremolite refers to a co-occurring assemblage of two amphibole minerals, anthophyllite a…
- PyroxenePyroxenes are a large family of rock-forming silicate minerals built from single chains of silicon-oxygen tet…
- richteriteRichterite is a sodium-calcium-magnesium amphibole mineral that can occur in a fibrous (asbestiform) habit. I…
- SepioliteSepiolite is a fibrous magnesium silicate clay mineral, related to palygorskite. It is used in absorbents, pe…
- Soda TremoliteSoda tremolite is an informal name for a sodium-rich variant of tremolite, an amphibole mineral that can occu…
- Sodic AmphiboleSodic amphiboles are a chemical subgroup of the amphibole mineral family in which sodium is a dominant elemen…
- Sub-calcic ActinoliteSub-calcic actinolite is a variant of the amphibole mineral actinolite in which the calcium content is lower …
- TalcTalc is a soft mineral made of magnesium, silicon, and oxygen, used in products like baby powder, cosmetics, …
- TremoliteTremolite is a calcium-magnesium silicate mineral in the amphibole family that can grow in two forms: a non-f…
- Tremolite-Actinolite SeriesThe tremolite-actinolite series is a continuous group of calcium-magnesium-iron amphibole minerals in which i…
- vermiculiteVermiculite is a naturally occurring mineral that expands dramatically when heated, producing a lightweight, …
- winchiteWinchite is a sodium-calcium-magnesium amphibole mineral that, when it grows in long, thin, separable fibers,…
- WollastoniteWollastonite is a white calcium silicate mineral that often forms long, needle-shaped crystals. It has been u…
- ZeoliteZeolites are a large family of microporous aluminosilicate minerals with a rigid framework of channels and ca…
Terms in this category
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