Erionite series minerals: mineralogical and carcinogenic properties

Our plain-English summary of Erionite series minerals: mineralogical and carcinogenic properties, by A.U. Dogan, M. Dogan, J.A. Hoskins (Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 2008).

The study

• Authors: A.U. Dogan, M. Dogan, J.A. Hoskins
• Journal: Environmental Geochemistry and Health
• Published: 2008;30(4):367-81
• Cited by: 28 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Erionite is a human and animal carcinogen and one of the most toxic minerals known. Erionite deposits have been reported in many countries; however, it is only in the area of three villages of Cappadocia, Turkey, that environmental exposure to erionite has been demonstrated to be the cause of an epidemic of the disease mesothelioma. In the USA, no cases of mesothelioma have been reliably proven to be the result of erionite exposure, though the possibility exists. Erionite samples from three villages of the Cappadocia region were characterized mineralogically and compared with three different standards from the USA. Micro morphological details of erionite minerals using a high-resolution field-emission SEM showed that microstructures of "bundles", "fibers", and "fibrils" are important physical properties of fibrous erionite minerals. Typical lung burden of erionite and asbestos fibers were compared in terms of number of fibers. Assuming the lung burden of fibers in a human mesothelioma victim is about 1 mg, and the hazardous fibers are approximately 1 mum in diameter and 10 mum long, that milligram contains approximately 40 million asbestos and 50 million erionite fibers. These microstructures of erionite minerals draw attention to the concepts of surface area or surface-area-to-volume ratio and their relationship to the carcinogenicity of the mineral. The larger surface area creates a wider platform for mineral-cell interaction and thus more possibilities of proliferative transformation of mesothelial cells. Consequently, understanding the exact mineralogical properties will help determination of the true carcinogenic mechanism(s) of the mineral for prevention and possibly treatment of malignant mesothelioma.

In plain English

This article combined a laboratory study of erionite, a fibrous zeolite mineral, with a review of earlier research on its health effects. The authors examined erionite samples from four villages in the Cappadocia region of Turkey (Tuzkoy, "Old" Sarihidir, Karain and Karlik) using microscopy, chemical analysis and X-ray diffraction. They compared Tuzkoy erionite with published patterns of three US erionite standards from Oregon, California and Nevada. Chemical calculations classed most Tuzkoy samples as erionite-Na and most samples from the other three villages as erionite-K. The Tuzkoy erionite was comparable with the US standards and showed no offretite contamination. Electron microscopy showed erionite "bundles" made up of "fibers" and "fibrils". Assuming a lung burden of about 1 mg of fibers about 1 micrometre wide and 10 micrometres long, the authors estimated that 1 mg holds about 40 million amphibole asbestos fibers or about 50 million erionite fibers. The authors concluded that erionite's larger surface area may create a wider platform for mineral–cell interaction. The human and animal disease figures in the article come from earlier studies, not this one.

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: Mineralogical laboratory characterization of erionite samples, combined with a narrative review of earlier animal, cell and human studies on erionite
• Who was studied: No people were studied. The material was rock and mineral samples: erionite from four villages in Cappadocia, Turkey (Tuzkoy, 7 samples; "Old" Sarihidir, 4; Karain, 4; Karlik, 4), compared with three US erionite standards (Agate Beach, Oregon; Tecopa, California; Jersey Valley, Nevada).
• Exposure: Erionite (a fibrous zeolite mineral, erionite series: erionite-Ca, erionite-Na, erionite-K). No human exposure was measured in this study.
• Main results:
  • Tuzkoy samples: chemical structure computations classed the species as erionite-Na, except for one sample (7 samples).
  • "Old" Sarihidir samples: the species was erionite-K (4 samples).
  • Karain samples: the species was erionite-K, except for one sample (4 samples).
  • Karlik samples: the species was erionite-K (4 samples).
  • X-ray diffraction: Tuzkoy erionite was comparable with the three US standards and had no offretite contamination.
  • High-resolution electron microscopy showed erionite "bundles" (one about 10 micrometres thick) made of hexagonal "fibers". The authors described bundles, fibers and fibrils as important physical properties of fibrous erionite.
  • The authors made a hypothetical calculation. Assuming a typical mesothelioma victim's lung burden is about 1 mg of fibers about 1 micrometre wide and 10 micrometres long, 1 mg would hold about 40 million amphibole asbestos fibers. For erionite, 1 mg would hold about 50 million fibers.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that erionite's bundle, fiber and fibril microstructures draw attention to surface area, or surface-area-to-volume ratio, and its relationship to the mineral's carcinogenicity. In their view, the larger surface area may create a wider platform for mineral–cell interaction.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: erionite, Carcinogenic, Cappadocia, Environmental Exposure, Mesothelioma, Fibril, Mesothelial Cells, Malignant Mesothelioma.

Related studies

• Quantitative characterization of the mesothelioma-inducing erionite series minerals by transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy — M. Dogan (2012)
• Re-evaluation and re-classification of erionite series minerals — A.U. Dogan, M. Dogan (2008)
• Geological occurrence, mineralogical characterization, and risk assessment of potentially carcinogenic erionite in Italy — M. Giordani, M. Mattioli, et al. (2017)
• Erionite exposure in North Dakota and Turkish villages with mesothelioma — M. Carbone, Y.I. Baris, et al. (2011)
• Lung diseases due to environmental exposures to erionite and asbestos in Turkey — S. Emri, A. Demir, et al. (2002)
• Endemic malignant mesothelioma: exposure to erionite is more important than genetic factors — M. Metintas, G. Hillerdal, et al. (2010)

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