Erionite and Potential Health Hazards
In recent posts to the Rockhound Mailing List, mention
is made of erionite and its potential health hazards.
An interesting article about it and its potential health
hazards is:
Pratt, Sarah E., 2012, Dangerous dust: Erionite - an
asbestos-like mineral causing a cancer epidemic in
Turkey – is found in at least 13 states. Earth
Magazine. vol. 57, no. 2, pp. 36 - 43.
http://www.earthmagazine.org/article/dangerous-dust-erionite-asbestos-mineral-causing-cancer-epidemic-turkey-found-least-13
Another article is “Erionite: An Emerging North
American Hazard,” NIOSH Science Blog, Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
http://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2011/11/22/erionite/
A map showing the known occurrences of erionite
in the United States can be found in “Map:
Occurrences of Erionite” the NIOSH Science Blog,
for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
http://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2011/11/22/map-erionite/
A related US Geological Survey publication is:
Sheppard, R. S., 1996, Occurrences of erionite in
sedimentary rocks of the Western United States.
Open-File Report no. 96-18, United States Geological
Survey, Reston, Virginia. 24 pp.
http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/ofr9618
http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1996/0018/report.pdf
Finally, there is the Wikipedia article about Erionite
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erionite
Yours,
Paul H.
