Elongate Mineral Particles

This groundbreaking book explores the complex world of elongate mineral particles (EMPs), critical occupational and environmental agents with significant public health implications. It carefully distinguishes between asbestiform EMPs, which pose serious health hazards to humans, and non-asbestiform elongate particles such as cleavage fragments, which have different characteristics and lower (or negligible) health risks. This distinction is vital for accurate risk assessment and appropriate regulatory approaches in both occupational and environmental contexts. The comprehensive volume covers multiple scientific aspects of EMPs, including their geological origins and mineralogy, specialized analytical characterization methods, toxicological properties and carcinogenic potential, and the specific dimensional parameters that influence their toxicity. It also addresses classification methodologies for distinguishing between asbestiform and non-asbestiform particles, examines how EMPs interact with the human respiratory system, evaluates current regulatory frameworks while identifying needed improvements, and presents illuminating case studies on EMP risk assessment. Elongate Mineral Particles: Characterization, Classification, and Risk Analysis is written for professionals across multiple disciplines. This book serves as an essential resource for health and safety specialists, industrial hygienists, toxicologists, epidemiologists, mineralogists, public health personnel, and pathologists. Its accessible yet scientifically rigorous approach makes it valuable for any scientist or practitioner interested in understanding the mineralogy and health effects of asbestos and other fibrous minerals, providing the readers with the knowledge needed to address these important public health challenges.

Dr. Andrey Korchevskiy, PhD, DABT, CIH, is a diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology (DABT) and a certified industrial hygienist (CIH), USA. He is the Director of Research and Development at Chemistry & Industrial Hygiene, Inc. (C&IH) (Lakewood, Colorado). Dr. Korchevskiy holds separate PhD degrees in Applied Mathematics and Biology. He has over 150 publications in various peer-reviewed journals and was a leading editor and author of a monograph on risk assessment for asbestos and other fibrous minerals. He has also published works in the area of the theory of numbers, his favorite area of mathematics. Dr. Ann Wylie, PhD, holds a BA from Wellesley College and a PhD from Columbia University, USA. She joined the faculty at the University of Maryland in 1972, where she has taught courses in optical mineralogy, mineralogy, economic geology, X-ray diffraction, and ore microscopy. She currently holds the rank of Emerita Professor and Distinguished Scholar Teacher in the Department of Geology. She is an elected fellow of the Geological Society of America and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is also a senior scientific advisor for Chemistry & Industrial Hygiene, Inc. Her work has been published in both the mineralogical and toxicological literature. She has served as a consultant to both government and industry.

Introduction. 1. Definition of a mineral fiber: How the science and regulations approach asbestiform fibers and non-asbestiform fragments. 2. Measurements of EMPs: Analytical approaches and the development of the dimensional database. 3. Fractional characteristics of elongate mineral particles and their relationship with cancer potency factors. 4. Mesothelial toxicity of elongate mineral particles: The mode of action and quantitative interpretation. 5. Cell responses to Elongated Mineral Fibers: Multiple roles of shape and dimension. 6. Elongate mineral particles in tissue: physical and mineralogical characteristics of retained EMPs. 7. Mechanical properties as a predictor of mesotheliomagenicity. 8. Characteristics of elongate mineral particles relevant for carcinogenic risk assessment. 9. Classification of elongate mineral particles by their habit. 10. Toxicological assessment for a mixture of fibrous dusts: The case of the Boulder City Bypass Project. 11. The soil contamination by asbestos in Armley, Leeds (U.K.): Dimensional characteristics as a "footprint" of exposure. 12. Peritoneal mesothelioma hazard rate in rats as a function of mineralogical parameters: Revisiting the results of the experimental study. 13. Asbestos terminology: How to combine mineralogical, toxicological, and analytical information for the purpose of standardization. 14. Regulatory priorities for elongate mineral particles in the new era.