Abstract
A major application of analytical electron microscopy is in the analysis of mineral fibers recovered from lung tissue and the correlation of these findings with various human diseases. The best studied group of mineral fibers in this regard is asbestos, which is a generic term for fibrous crystalline silicates which possess the properties of high tensile strength, heat resistance, and relative resistance to various chemicals. Chrysotile is the form of asbestos which accounts for the great majority of industrial consumption in this country, with the commercial amphiboles amosite and crocidolite providing the remainder. Non-commercial varieties of amphibole asbestos, including tremolite, anthophyllite, and actinolite, are important primarily as contaminants of other mineral ores. A number of diseases or pathologic abnormalities have been described as resulting from exposure to airborne asbestos fibers, including a form of pulmonary interstitial fibrosis referred to as asbestosis, malignant (diffuse) mesothelioma of the pleura or peritoneum, parietal pleural plaques, and bronchogenic carcinoma, especially among asbestos workers who smoke.
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