Toxicity evaluation for the broad area of the asbestos mine of northern Greece

Our plain-English summary of Toxicity evaluation for the broad area of the asbestos mine of northern Greece, by K. Anastasiadou, E. Gidarakos (Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2007).

The study

• Authors: K. Anastasiadou, E. Gidarakos
• Journal: Journal of Hazardous Materials
• Published: 2007;139(1):9-18
• Cited by: 17 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

The existing data regarding the quality of the environment in the asbestos mine of northern Greece (MABE) region related to the presence of asbestos are insufficient to determine the current pollution problem. In the present work, a first approach to this problem has been taken through a toxicity risk assessment. The environmental quality of an open air asbestos mine was evaluated over a long period of time by measuring and monitoring the concentration of asbestos fibres in air, soil and water. Air measurements were made to determine the concentration of asbestos fibres in the atmospheric air of the mine, the depositions and the nearby villages. The asbestos fibre concentration was also specified inside the building facilities of MABE. Analyses of soil, dust and water samples were carried out showing the presence of enormous quantities of chrysotile asbestos. The concentration of asbestos fibres in the atmospheric air was compared to older measurements that were taken at the same sampling points during the operation of the mine. The results of this work, in conjunction with individual researches that have been carried out in the past and with the evaluation of international standards of scientific and experience-based findings, provide a reliable framework with which to estimate the threat of MABE to its surrounding environment, and help to determine a basic criterion for the remediation and rehabilitation of the region. In addition, mathematical models based on human and animal studies were used to estimate the probability of a person developing cancer from breathing air containing asbestos fibres in the wider vicinity of the mine in order to define appropriate procedures for evaluating asbestos-related risk.

In plain English

This environmental risk assessment examined the closed MABE asbestos mine near Kozani, northern Greece. The authors measured asbestos fibres in air (2004–2005), soil, dust and river water. They compared air results with readings from the same points during mining. In 2005, average airborne levels at the mine and untreated waste depositions were 0.12 to 0.19 fibres/cm3, above the EU 8-hour workplace limit of 0.1. Mine readings were generally, though not uniformly, lower than in 1995–1999. Using an EPA formula assuming lifetime exposure, the authors calculated cancer risks of 2.76% to 4.37%. Airborne levels on a covered, tree-planted part of the depositions were 0.03 fibres/cm3 (2004) and 0.02 (2005). The fine-grained fraction of deposition soil contained over 40% chrysotile. June 2005 Aliakmonas river samples held 8.5 and 14.3 million fibres per litre. In 2005, nearby villages and Kozani measured 0.01 to 0.02 fibres/cm3, below the EU limit; the table also lists a maximum of 0.29 for Mikrovalto. The authors concluded that the mine and depositions remain major pollution sources needing prompt remediation. They noted that weather and static sampling may have caused underestimates.

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 monitoring and toxicity risk assessment: air, soil, dust and water sampling at an abandoned asbestos mine, compared with older measurements, with cancer risk estimated by an EPA empirical formula
• Who was studied: No people were studied. Environmental samples were taken from the MABE asbestos mine region at Zidani, Kozani prefecture, northern Greece: the mine, waste depositions, building facilities, MABE settlement, Zidani's monastery, surroundings, nearby villages and Kozani, plus the Aliakmonas river. New air measurements were taken in 2004–2005 and new water samples in June 2005. The number of samples is not stated.
• Exposure: Environmental asbestos, mainly chrysotile in the form of free fibres, from a chrysotile mine that operated until 2000. Measured as airborne fibres (f/cm3, phase contrast microscopy), asbestos content of soil and dust (X-ray diffraction and SEM), and fibres in river water (TEM, millions of fibres per litre).
• Main results:
  • 2005 averages at the mine and untreated depositions:
• mine top: 0.12 f/cm3
• mine bottom: 0.15 f/cm3
• deposition square: 0.16 f/cm3
• deposition top of slope: 0.17 f/cm3
• deposition foot of slope: 0.19 f/cm3

All were above the EU limit of 0.1 f/cm3. The article describes this limit as an occupational time-weighted average over an 8-hour workshift. Mine readings were generally lower than in 1995–1999; for example, the mine top was 0.27 in 1995 and 0.15 in 1999. They were not lower at every point and year: at the mine bottom, the 2004 and 2005 readings of 0.15 were above the 1998 reading of 0.14. Calculated cancer risk ranged from 2.76% (mine top) to 4.37% (deposition foot of slope). The authors called this risk exceptionally high.

• At the partly remediated depositions (soil layer and trees planted), airborne levels were 0.03 f/cm3 in 2004 and 0.02 f/cm3 in 2005, with a calculated cancer risk of 0.46%. The authors described this as reduced almost by a factor of 10 compared with the untreated depositions.
• In soil from the depositions, the fine-grain fraction (under 2 mm) contained over 40% chrysotile asbestos. Elsewhere the article states that the barren material contains 60 to 70% clean asbestos.
• Free chrysotile fibres were found in two samples from outside the buildings: dust from transport-building machinery and drilling mud near the MABE settlement. A sample from Zidani's monastery, 500 m from the mine, contained mixed asbestos dust.
• Aliakmonas river water sampled by the authors' university in June 2005 contained 8.5 million fibres per litre at Saint Barbara and 14.3 million fibres per litre at Bridge Serbia. The authors used the EPA drinking-water limit of 7,000,000 fibres per litre for comparison. Table 3 also lists 1993–1994 results from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
• 2005 averages inside the mineral processing buildings, with 1999 figures and calculated cancer risk:
• crusher house: 0.07 f/cm3 (0.14 in 1999), risk 1.61%
• mill building: 0.17 f/cm3 (0.57 in 1999), risk 3.91%
• mill building upper floors: 0.19 f/cm3 (1.08 in 1999), risk 4.37%

Outside the crusher house, the 2005 average was 0.10 f/cm3. The authors attributed the decrease to the mine being out of operation since 2000.

• 2005 airborne levels inside the MABE site:
• MABE settlement: 0.03 f/cm3
• Zidani's monastery: 0.02 f/cm3

2005 airborne levels in nearby villages and the town:

• Mikrovalto (2 km): 0.02 f/cm3
• Rymnio (4 km): 0.01 f/cm3
• Kozani (40 km): 0.02 f/cm3

The authors stated that all values were below the EU limit. Table 5 also lists a maximum of 0.29 f/cm3 for Mikrovalto, which is not explained and does not fit that statement.

• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the mine and the depositions are still major sources of asbestos pollution for the broader area, with a high risk of landslides. The buildings are a hot spot of pollution. A remedial program should be applied as soon as possible.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Sampling conditions were not ideal: there was no wind, and it had rained a week before. The authors expect real airborne concentrations to be higher.
  • Sampling inside the buildings was static and did not account for asbestos piles on surfaces, so the measurements may not reflect actual levels.
  • Only the fine-grain fraction of the soil was analysed, which the authors call a worst case. They say a proper sampling program covering all grain sizes is needed.
  • The values are indicative only. A systematic sampling program is planned for a later stage.
  • The cancer risk model assumes lifetime exposure at a known airborne concentration.

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: Deposition, Chrysotile.

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• Understanding exposure risk using soil testing and GIS around an abandoned asbestos mine — A.V. Jadhav, N. Gawde, et al. (2025)

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