Industrial Regulatory Term Asbestos and Minerals It Involves

By Damien Knight

Asbestos has become a common household name. Its hazards a concern blared across our TVs during lawsuit commercials. We all have heard of it, but what is it? Why was it mined? To understand asbestos, we first must define it. Here we will describe the minerals defined, talk about its use, mining, and health effects.

Asbestos: Commercial Uses

By Damien Knight

Every time one watches T.V. one cannot avoid hearing the commercials for “asbestos” and its dangers. “Have you been diagnosed with Mesothelioma?” the ad asks. This paper discuss what asbestos is and its applications in commercial industries. We will first define “asbestos”, describe the minerals defined, talk about its use in our economy and speak in depth about the serpentine mineral chrysolite.

The confusion over asbestos health risks is due to the term does not refer to a single mineral. Asbestos is an industry term that covers six different naturally occurring minerals. These minerals or “asbestiforms” all have a fibrous habit that is strong and flexible. The fibers are soft like fabric and can be spun into yarn or made into felts. This makes them useful as a fireproofing and insulation material.

The Dolomite and Aragonite Problem: A Summary

By Damien Knight

A work in progress

The dolomite problem is a problem in how the formation of massive dolomite beds occurred. Dolomite is CaMg [CO3] 2 that differs from limestone in that magnesium substitutes for half the calcium. The problem is dolomite only forms in lagoons or extreme environments in smaller quantities today, the formation of dolomite beds is a mystery. It is hypothesized that these dolomites resulted from extra-terrestrial planting.

The aragonite problem is that aragonite is its more soluble than calcite. It would make sense that aragonite which is formed biologically in seashells not be formed at all. According to the one article I found the aragonite forms in magnesium rich seas. As magnesium increases the amount of calcite decreases until all that is formed is the more soluble aragonite.