Crocidolite fibers are used to reinforce polymers and as heat resistant textiles. The largest deposit of crocidolite occurs in South Africa and is mined there in large quantities. Exposure to very dusty air or long-term exposure to low level airborne dusts containing fine fibres of the mineral has been found to cause a high risk of serious lung disease including mesothelioma and lung cancer. It forms part of a solid-solution series that includes both magnesioriebeckite (formed when iron is replaced by magnesium) and glaucophane (formed when iron is replaced by magnesium and aluminum). The name asbestos comes from the Greek and describes the common form of asbestos versions to appear as long thin fibrous crystals. – Dani Shapiro. Blue asbestos. Crocidolite Asbestos: Most Dangerous Asbestos Material. The stability relations of riebeckite in very low-grade metamorphic (late diagenetic) iron-formations, however, have not been quantitatively assessed because ofthe lack of available thermodynamic data and on account of experimental difficulties. Blue Tiger’s Eye or Hawk’s Eye is formed when fibers of silicate form along side crocidolite. It is considered to be the most hazardous form of asbestos, and should never be brought near the mouth. Crocidolite, CAS No. This specimen is an example of blue crocidolite asbestos, which has the potential to transform into tiger's eye. Prior to the investigation, mineralogists assumed that tiger’s eye formed after crocidolite asbestos was replaced with quartz. It can be also found as a natural contaminant of the chrysotile form of as bestos. The characteristic form of crocidolite is similar to that of chrysotile. Also called blue asbestos. There is increasing evidence that the curly nature helps the human body to remove chrysotile fibres from the lung. In this paper, we briefly de-scribe … Crocidolite is a relatively rare mineral with very restricted occurrence, it is found in metamorphosed iron formations as slender and flexible fiber bundles. These structures are fairly common and form due to pressure, the same process that produces stylolites. Asbestiform riebeckite (crocidolite) from the Marra Mamba Iron Formation (Hamersley Basin, Western Australia) was investigated using high-resolution, transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Crocidolite is one of the asbestos minerals, it is also known as the blue asbestos. Johannesburg Geological Museum specimen. Chrysotile (white asbestos) is the most commonly used form of asbestos. riebeckite may form at temperatures as low as 100-150'C and prefers low Eh and relatively low pH conditions. Although problems among professionals, in particular mineralogists and industrial hygienists, must crocidolite, chrysotile) during the extraction, process. Blue color sets it apart from other asbestiform minerals. Riebeckite, a sodium-iron silicate mineral [Na2Fe2+3Fe3+2Si8O22(OH)2] in the amphibole family. See more. It is found in Europe, Africa, South America and the United States. Crocidolite. n. A lavender-blue or greenish variety of asbestos that is a fibrous form of the amphibole mineral riebeckite. 12001-28-4, commonly known as blue asbestos, is the fibrous form of the amphibole riebeckite, found primarily in southern Africa, but also in Australia and Bolivia. Flickr photos, groups, and tags related to the "crocidolite" Flickr tag. Similarly to the other types of asbestos in the amphibole group, it has long, straight, and friable fibers. Amosite (brown asbestos) was used most frequently in cement sheets and pipe … In 1964, Dr Christopher Wagner discovered an association between blue asbestos and the asbestos related cancer mesothelioma. But riebeckite has a variety called "crocidolite" that is asbestiform in habit and is a significant percentage of the total tonage of asbestos that is mined annually. "Cone" structures formed in crocidolite asbestos from the Pomfret mine. The percentage of DNA with SSB induced by each form of asbestos was directly related to its iron content. The fibers of toxicological concern are asbestos (chrysotile, crocidolite, anthophyllite, amosite, actinolite, and tremolite), synthetic vitreous fibers (SVF; glasses and ceramics in fibrous form), and, more recently, nanotubes. 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