GEOHEALTH 2020 - INTERNATIONAL MEETING OF GEOHEALTH SCIENTISTS

There is a global and increasing interest for the study of the toxicity and carcinogenicity of asbestos minerals in the rocks. A correlation between fibrous minerals exposure, defined as “asbestos”, with health problems, such as respiratory and digestive system diseases, has been widely demonstrated. The inhalation of these mineral fibers can cause neoplasms with a high mortality rate such as asbestosis, lung cancer, and malignant mesothelioma. Asbestos-bearing rocks, can release significant amounts of fibers into the different environmental matrices (air, water, and soil). It is well demonstrated that both weathering processes and human activity can separate the fibers into smaller fibrils that are widely spread out into the environment, becoming easily inhalable. This study focuses on massive asbestos-bearing serpentines outcropping in ophiolites of the Pollino Massif (Calabria-Lucania boundary, Southern Italy) where asbestiform minerals occur. Furthermore, considering the health hazard, the weathering of ultramafic rocks can promote the release of harmful chemical elements into groundwater such as Cr (VI) which can accumulate in human organism and promote serious health problems. On these rocks X-Ray Diffraction and μ-Raman spectroscopy analysis were performed. The analyzed rocks were used as pilot samples for the identification of asbestiform minerals (serpentine as well as amphibole mineral phases) by using μ-Raman spectroscopy and X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) analysis. The analytical methods and results of the used analytical techniques were compared in order to assess the easier and safer procedure for the study and the identification of health dangerous materials such as asbestos-like minerals. Raman spectroscopy allows a quick and clear identification of asbestiform minerals within the analyzed serpentinites rocks. Accordingly, we believe that Raman spectroscopy is preferable respect to XRPD analysis.