Abstract
In this paper, we report the quantification of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) hosted into two tremolite asbestos from Episcopia and San Severino Lucano villages (Basilicata region, Southern Italy). Micro X-ray fluorescence and Inductively Coupled Plasma spectroscopy with Optical Emission Spectrometry techniques were used to quantify the concentration of major, minor (Si, Mg, Ca, Al, Fe, Mn) and trace elements (As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Li, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Sn Sr, Ti, Te, V, W, Zn, Zr), with the aim of providing available data useful for the determination of the asbestos fibers toxicity. Results show that in the two studied samples there exist high concentrations of Fe, Mn, Cr and Ni which could lead to the high toxicity of the mineral fibers. By considering the pseudo-total PTEs amounts in each tremolite asbestos, it is possible to affirm that one of the samples is more enriched in toxic elements than the other one (3572 ppm versus 1384 ppm). These PTEs can represent a source of risk to human health since they may be transported away from the geological outcrops, through asbestos in the air, water and soils and thus encountering the human body.
Highlights
Italian law established that chrysotile, actinolite, tremolite, amosite, anthophyllite and crocidolite were included under the definition of asbestos [1]
Tremolite asbestos coming from serpentinite rocks cropping out in the surroundings of San Severino Lucano and Episcopia villages (Basilicata region, southern Italy), were investigated
TR-EPS comes from the sample E10 [21] and TR-SSL comes from the sample S18 [6]
Summary
MAT-INLAB-Department of Chemistry and Chemical Technologies, University of Calabria, Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences (DiBest), University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, CS, Italy; Abstract: In this paper, we report the quantification of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) hosted into two tremolite asbestos from Episcopia and San Severino Lucano villages By considering the pseudo-total PTEs amounts in each tremolite asbestos, it is possible to affirm that one of the samples is more enriched in toxic elements than the other one (3572 ppm versus 1384 ppm). These PTEs can represent a source of risk to human health since they may be transported away from the geological outcrops, through asbestos in the air, water and soils and encountering the human body.
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