Assessing potentially toxic elements (PTEs) content in asbestos and related groundwater: A review of the levels detected

This article provides a review of published literature on the concentration levels of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in asbestos minerals like chrysotile, actinolite, amosite (asbestiform grunerite), anthophyllite, crocidolite (asbestiform riebeckite) and tremolite and their potential to release PTEs into groundwaters worldwide. A large number of PTEs, such as Fe, Cr, Ni, Mn, Co and Zn, may be hosted by asbestos minerals, and their release in the lung environment can cause different health problems as well as their intake via drinking water. The review highlights that amosite is the phase with the highest PTEs content, followed by crocidolite, actinolite, anthophyllite, tremolite and chrysotile. Chrysotile, tremolite, and anthophyllite contain higher levels of Cr, Ni, and Co, while Fe and Mn are more enriched in amosite and crocidolite. Actinolite contains a high concentration of all considered PTEs. High levels of Cr, Fe, Zn, Mn, and Ni were also detected in groundwater interacting with ophiolite rocks containing asbestos minerals. The three main recognized hydro-geochemical facies (Mg-HCO3, Ca-HCO3 and Ca-OH), characterizing the ophiolite aquifers, show high levels of Cr and Ni, with values sometimes above the World health Organization (WHO) thresholds for drinking waters, which can cause adverse health effects in short and long term. The knowledge emerging from this work is a significant contribution to the already wide frame of understanding asbestos-related diseases and provide a strong scientific basis for further mineralogical and geochemical studies.