Asbestos pollution in an inactive mine: determination of asbestos fibers in the deposit tailings and water

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos pollution in an inactive mine: determination of asbestos fibers in the deposit tailings and water, by E. Koumantakis, A. Kalliopi, K. Dimitrios, et al (Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2009).

The study

• Authors: E. Koumantakis, A. Kalliopi, K. Dimitrios, E. Gidarakos
• Journal: Journal of Hazardous Materials
• Published: 2009;167(1-3):1080-8
• Cited by: 19 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

An inactive asbestos mine in Northern Greece, known as MABE, had been operational for 18 years, showing an annual chrysotile production of approximately 100,000 tons. It is estimated that a total of 68 million tons of the mineral serpentine were excavated from the mine, of which 881,000 tons of chrysotile asbestos were produced. The mine deposits are located very near to the river Aliakmonas. The water of the river is extensively used as drinking water, as well as for irrigation. This study estimated the amount of asbestos currently present in the deposits, to at least 1.33 million tons. This is a 10-fold increase since the start of mine operation in 1982. Water samples obtained throughout the river had high chrysotile concentrations, in most cases far exceeding EPA's standard value (7 x 10(6)f/l). Therefore, the mine and the deposits urgently require remediation works, such as removal of large contaminated objects from the mine buildings and re-vegetation of the deposit areas, in order to reduce the asbestos levels in the river water.

In plain English

This environmental study measured asbestos at MABE, an inactive chrysotile asbestos mine in Northern Greece that operated from 1982 to 2000. The mine lies near the Aliakmonas river, which supplies drinking and irrigation water. The authors analyzed ten soil samples from the mine's waste deposits, collected from October to December 2005. They also took five water samples from each of ten sites along the river and lake Polifitou. The finer deposit material averaged 27.15% asbestos by weight. From this, the authors estimated at least 1.33 million tons of pure asbestos at the two deposit sites. At every water site except the farthest (W10, 21 km from the deposits), asbestos levels were much higher than the EPA standard of 7 million fibers per liter. Levels rose toward the deposits and peaked at 158.9 million fibers per liter at site W8, then fell to 4.5 million at W10. Fibers at W10 were considerably shorter than at site W1. In laboratory tests, chrysotile raised water pH, more so when stirred. The authors concluded that the area remains a pollution hot spot requiring urgent remediation. The study measured no health outcomes.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Environmental field study of asbestos in mine waste deposits and river water, with a laboratory experiment on how chrysotile affects water pH
• Who was studied: The inactive MABE asbestos mine, Zidani region, Kozani Prefecture, Northern Greece (operated 1982 to February 2000). Ten soil samples were taken from its old and new waste deposits between October and December 2005. Five water samples were taken from each of ten sites (W1 to W10) along the Aliakmonas river and lake Polifitou, with W10 at 21 km from the deposits.
• Exposure: Mainly chrysotile asbestos in mine tailings and river water. The water samples also contained amphibole fibers (actinolite/tremolite, anthophyllite) in smaller amounts.
• Main results:
  • The analyzed (finer) fractions of the deposits had an average asbestos concentration of 27.15% by weight.
  • The authors estimated a minimum of 1.33 million tons of pure asbestos at the two deposit sites, which they gave as 1.95% of the total deposit volume.
  • Asbestos concentrations in water samples from all sites except W10 were much higher than the EPA standard of 7 million fibers per liter.
  • Water asbestos concentrations increased as sampling points approached the base of the deposits (sites W1 to W8).
  • Site W8 had the highest asbestos concentration, 158.9 million fibers per liter.
  • After W8, concentrations fell steeply to 4.5 million fibers per liter at W10.
  • Fibers in sample W10 (farthest downstream) were considerably shorter than fibers in sample W1 (upstream of the contamination sources).
  • Pearson correlation coefficients between total asbestos fibers in water and metal concentrations were 0.559 for iron, 0.352 for magnesium and 0.530 for calcium. The authors said the calcium and iron coefficients were not meaningful because the tailings are mainly chrysotile.
  • In laboratory tests, adding chrysotile tailing material to water raised the pH, and the rise was larger when the sample was stirred. Temperature (22 versus 35 °C) had minimal effect.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the mine area remains a pollution hot spot requiring urgent remediation. They reported significant asbestos contamination of the river and lake, at levels considerably higher than EPA standard values.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Larger particles and rocks (over 53 mm) were not collected or analyzed for asbestos, so the 1.33 million ton figure is a minimum estimate.
  • The authors attributed the large difference between the bases of the new and old deposits probably to the sampling method used.
  • Limestone in the surrounding mountains may have contributed to calcium levels in the water, affecting the magnesium/calcium comparison.
  • The laboratory test was only a rough simulation of fiber movement in the river, using distilled water.

Mines named here

Asbestos mines this study is about. Each mine's page says who ran it, when it worked, and what it produced.

• Zidani asbestos mine, Zidani, Kozani, Greece

All asbestos mines

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Tailings, Chrysotile, Serpentine Group.

Related studies

• Investigative studies for the use of an inactive asbestos mine as a disposal site for asbestos wastes — E. Gidarakos, K. Anastasiadou, et al. (2008)
• Effect of Organic Manures on the Growth of Cymbopogon citratus and Chrysopogon zizanioides for the Phytoremediation of Chromite-Asbestos Mine Waste: A Pot Scale Experiment — A. Kumar, S.K. Maiti (2015)
• Toxicity evaluation for the broad area of the asbestos mine of northern Greece — K. Anastasiadou, E. Gidarakos (2007)
• The reliability of measures of amphibole fiber concentration in water — A.L. Brown, W.F. Taylor, et al. (1976)
• Cancer incidence in relation to asbestos in drinking water in the Puget Sound region — L. Polissar, R.K. Severson, et al. (1982)
• A case-control study of asbestos in drinking water and cancer risk — L. Polissar, R.K. Severson, et al. (1984)

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