Exposure to Tremolite Asbestos and Respiratory Health in Swedish Dolomite Workers

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Exposure to Tremolite Asbestos and Respiratory Health in Swedish Dolomite Workers 670 Occup Environ Med 2001;58:670–677 Occup Environ Med: first published as 10.1136/oem.58.10.670 on 1 October 2001. Downloaded from Exposure to tremolite asbestos and respiratory health in Swedish dolomite workers A I Seldén, N P Berg, E A L Lundgren, G Hillerdal, N-G Wik, C-G Ohlson, L S Bodin Abstract double salt with carbon dioxide and calcium Objectives—Deposits of carbonate rock oxide called dolomite ((CaMg)CO3) is often like limestone and dolomite may contain formed. The ensuing bedrock is called dolom- tremolite asbestos. This study assessed the itic limestone or dolomite. Carbonate rocks are exposure to tremolite asbestos and the used as industrial minerals in various respiratory health of Swedish dolomite applications—for example, in the production of workers. mineral wool, iron and steel, in the paper Methods—95% of 137 eligible workers at industry, as a filler in house and road construc- two dolomite producing companies com- tion materials, in plastics, paints, and adhe- pleted a self administered questionnaire sives, and in agriculture. that included questions on respiratory Carbonate rocks with a low content of silica symptoms and were examined with spiro- have been considered to be virtually harmless.1 metry as well as chest radiography. Total A few cases of pneumoconiosis in Finnish exposure to dust was gravimetrically limestone mines have been attributed to silicate measured and the tremolite asbestos con- impurities or quartz in the rock,2 but only one tent of the dust was assessed with polari- case of pneumoconiosis associated with dolo- sation and phase contrast microscopy. mite has been properly reported in the Results—Dolomite dust concentrations international literature.3 Exposure measure- were moderate (median 2.8 mg/m3) and ments in Finnish limestone and dolomite tremolite asbestos concentrations were mines showed varying concentrations of quartz generally below the limit of detection and mineral fibres with tremolite and wollas- (<0.03 fibres/ml). Somewhat higher tonite as the most abundant fibrous silicates. values, around 0.1 fibres/ml, were ob- tained in manual stone sorting and bag- Forty per cent of the tremolite particles were ging. Respiratory symptoms suggestive of perfect fibres, of tremolite asbestos, whereas chronic bronchitis were more related to the remaining fraction was classified as either Department of smoking than to estimates of individual fibrous cleavage fragments or cleavage frag- Occupational and ments. At one dolomite mine the mean Environmental exposure to dust. The mean vital capacity was 0.2 l lower than expected after adjust- airborne concentration of perfect tremolite Medicine, Örebro 2 Medical Centre ment for sex, age, height, and smoking but fibres was over 0.1 fibres/ml. http://oem.bmj.com/ Hospital, SE-701 85 the decline in lung function was not Clusters of pleural mesothelioma and other Örebro, Sweden associated with current or cumulative health eVects related to asbestos have been A I Seldén exposure to dust in a clear cut way. Two associated with background exposure to N P Berg tremolite asbestos in various environmental C-G Ohlson definite cases of pleural plaques and one L S Bodin possible case of simple pneumoconiosis settings, notably from locally produced white- were noted, but the plaques could not be wash made from sedimentary rock.4–10 Similar Workplace Air, attributed exclusively to exposure to associations have been found in occupationally National Institute for tremolite asbestos. exposed groups—for example, in vermiculite on September 27, 2021 by guest. Protected copyright. Working Life, SE-112 Conclusions—Dolomite mining and mill- workers in the United States and Canadian 79 Stockholm, Sweden 11–14 E A L Lundgren ing may indeed entail low levels of expo- chrysotile workers. sure to tremolite asbestos, but this Tremolite asbestos occurring as a natural Department of exposure was not a strong determinant of component of the bedrock has been associated Medical Sciences, respiratory symptoms, lung function, or with pleural plaques in Swedish iron miners Respiratory Medicine pneumoconiosis in exposed Swedish without other exposure to asbestos,15 and spo- and Allergology, University Hospital, workers. This was true also for dolomite radic cases of diVuse pleural thickening or SE-751 85 Uppsala, dust. The hazards of exposure to tremolite pleural plaques have been attributed to tremo- Sweden asbestos may vary across deposits, how- lite asbestos from products containing milled G Hillerdal ever, and additional studies at other sites dolomite.16 17 of carbonate rock exploitation are war- In the area of Bergslagen in central Sweden Division of Bedrock ranted. Geology, Geological the bedrock contains metamorphosed sedi- (Occup Environ Med 2001;58:670–677) Survey of Sweden, mentary and volcanic rocks created some 1900 Kiliansgatan 10, Keywords: asbestos tremolite; dolomite; lung function million years ago. Serpentine and amphiboles SE-223 50 Lund, are common impurities in Swedish carbonate Sweden rocks but chlorite, mica, and talc are also N-G Wik Limestone and dolomite are examples of sedi- found. Occurring in both orthorhombic and Correspondence to: mentary rock which are also recognised as car- monoclinic systems, the amphibole group Dr A Seldén bonate rocks. Limestone contains more than comprises several minerals closely related in [email protected] 50% of the mineral calcite (calcium carbonate) crystallographic and other physical properties Accepted 18 May 2001 but if the carbonate rock is rich in magnesia a as well as in chemical composition. Among the www.occenvmed.com Exposure to tremolite asbestos and respiratory health in Swedish dolomite workers 671 Occup Environ Med: first published as 10.1136/oem.58.10.670 on 1 October 2001. Downloaded from The Bergslagen area Carbonate rock deposits Stockholm Figure 1 Map of Sweden with details of carbonate rock deposits (in black) in the Bergslagen area. Table 1 Mineralogical composition (% by weight) of amphiboles, created by metamorphic proc- carbonate rock samples from company A and company B esses, the tremolite-actinolite series belonging http://oem.bmj.com/ to the monoclinic system dominate. The Company B minerals usually form aggregates of long Mineral Company A Sample 1 Sample 2 prismatic crystals, sometimes fibrous and asbestiform and recognised as tremolite asbes- Dolomite 93 91 92 tos as opposed to non-asbestiform tremolite Calcite 3 6 3 Amphibole 4 2 4 cleavage fragments. The colour of tremolite is Mica Trace ND* Trace white, turning green with increasing iron Talc Trace ND Trace content. Quartz ND Trace ND on September 27, 2021 by guest. Protected copyright. Chlorite ND ND Trace The respiratory health of Swedish dolomite Total 100 99 99 workers has previously not been systematically investigated and the aim of this study was to *Not detected. conduct such a survey with special emphasis on the recent findings of occupational exposure to producing companies in the Bergslagen area tremolite asbestos. declined to participate. Preceded by small scale quarrying by local farmers, industrial dolomite mining at com- Material and methods pany A started in 1918. The current produc- COMPANIES tion facilities, including the underground mine, The study was conducted at two dolomite dated from the 1960s and contained depart- mines with adherent production facilities, here ments for stone sorting, crushing, grinding, called company A and company B, located in mixing, and packing. Over the years, various the Bergslagen area of central Sweden (fig 1). additives had been used to improve the quality Their combined produce was estimated to of local products among which asbestos was of constitute some 50% of the annual domestic particular interest for the present study. dolomite production (about 700 000 metric Circumstantial information indicated that tonnes). The mineralogical, geological, and some 40 tonnes of asbestos (possibly antophyl- chemical characteristics of the two sites were lite) were added as a fire retardant to selected similar (tables 1 and 2). Attempts to increase qualities in the 1960s and early 1970s. The use the statistical power of the study failed when of asbestos was thought to have ended when the two additional and relevant carbonate rock national restrictions were introduced, 1976 at www.occenvmed.com 672 Seldén, Berg, Lundgren, et al Occup Environ Med: first published as 10.1136/oem.58.10.670 on 1 October 2001. Downloaded from Table 2 Chemical composition (% by weight) of The questionnaire covered items of general carbonate rock (dolomite) samples from company A and health and medication, tobacco habits, and company B environmental exposure to smoke, an occupa- Company B tional history including a subjective dust Company A assessment as well as use of a respirator and Compound (mixed sample) Sample 1 Sample 2 previous exposure to asbestos. The prevalence of respiratory symptoms was assessed with a 14 SiO2 1.87 0.85 1.94 Al2O3 0.22 0.33 0.36 item questionnaire designed for use in popula- TiO <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 2 tions occupationally exposed to dust. This Fe2O3tot 0.49 0.78 0.53 MnO 0.07 0.12 0.07 questionnaire contains eight questions from CaO 30.2 30.3 30.1 the British Medical Research Council (MRC) MgO 20.4 20.7 20.9 questionnaire19 (three items referring to cough, K2O 0.03 0.02 0.04 Na2O 0.02 0.02 0.02 three to phlegm, and two to dyspnoea) and six P2O5 0.01 <0.01 <0.01 additional questions referring to simple bron- CO2 45.7 46.0 44.8 S <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 chitis with or without phlegm or to obstructive Total 99.0 99.1 98.8 symptoms. The 14 item questionnaire and the MRC questionnaire had previously been vali- dated against respiratory function tests and the latest, but no details on this issue were airways disorders classified by lung specialists available in company records. in a study of 295 asbestos cement workers.20 21 At company B open pit limestone mining, This validation suggested an optimal cut oV followed by underground mining, started in the value for sensitivity and specificity at any three early 20th century but this production almost or more symptoms—that is, the sum of positive ended in 1970.
Recommended publications
  • Yellowish Green Diopside and Tremolite from Merelani, Tanzania
    YELLOWISH GREEN DIOPSIDE AND TREMOLITE FROM MERELANI, TANZANIA Eric A. Fritz, Brendan M. Laurs, Robert T. Downs, and Gelu Costin tion (typical of diopside, which is a pyroxene) shown by other crystals in the parcels. Four similar-appearing yellowish green samples Mr. Ulatowski loaned one example of both types of from Block D at Merelani, Tanzania, were identified crystals to GIA for examination (figure 1), and we also as diopside and tremolite. The gems are identical in color, but their standard gemological properties are typical for calcic pyroxene and amphibole. The identification of the diopside was made with Raman Figure 1. These yellowish green crystals were recov- spectroscopy, while single-crystal X-ray diffraction ered from Block D at Merelani in the latter part of and electron-microprobe analyses were used to 2005. A blocky morphology is shown by the diopside confirm the amphibole species as tremolite. crystal (1.6 cm tall; left and bottom), whereas the Absorption spectroscopy (in the visible–mid-infrared tremolite crystal has a flattened, diamond-shaped range) revealed that the two gem materials are col- cross-section. Photos by Robert Weldon. ored by V3+, Cr3+, or both. t the 2006 Tucson gem shows, Steve Ulatowski A showed one of the authors (BML) some yellowish green crystals that he purchased as diopside while on buy- ing trips to Tanzania in August and November 2005. The material was reportedly produced during this time period from Block D at Merelani, in the same area that yielded some large tsavorite gem rough (see Laurs, 2006). Mr. Ula- towski obtained 1,200 grams of the green crystals, mostly as broken pieces ranging from 0.1 to 50 g (typically 1–5 g).
    [Show full text]
  • X-Ray Structure Refinements of Tremolite at 140 and 295 K: Crystal Chemistry and Petrologic Implications
    American Mineralogist, Volume 81, pages 1117-1125,1996 X-ray structure refinements of tremolite at 140 and 295 K: Crystal chemistry and petrologic implications HEXIONG YANG1.. ANDBERNARD W. EVANS2 'Department of Geological Sciences. Campus Box 250, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0250, U.S.A. 2Department of Geological Sciences, Box 351310, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-1310, U.S.A. ABSTRACT A near-end-member natural tremolite, N!lo.o,Ca1.97M~.9sFeo.Q3Alo.oISis.oo022(OH)2'was studied by single-crystal X-ray diffraction at 140 and 295 K to seek a possible crystal- chemical explanation for the typically low CaI~ M ratios, relative to the ideal ratio of 2/5, observed in both natural and synthetic tremolite samples. Difference-Fourier maps re- vealed the presence of a residual electron density close to the M4 site along the diad axis toward the octahedral strip. Structure refinements indicated that the M4 and M4' sites are occupied by Ca + Na and M(Fe + Mg), respectively. In comparison with the configuration of the M2 coordination polyhedron in diopside, the degree of distortion and the volume of the M4 coordination polyhedron in tremolite are relatively large and the M4 cation is slightly underbonded. These two factors contribute to an energetic drive toward M-en- riched tremolite. The average unit-cell volume of 906.6(2) A3 determined at 295 K for nearly pure tremolite in this study suggests an end-member reference-state volume for tremolite of907 A3. This indicates that cell volumes of synthetic tremolite of 904.2(4) A3 reflect 8-10% cummingtonite solid solution, as previous authors have claimed.
    [Show full text]
  • Tungsten Minerals and Deposits
    DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FRANKLIN K. LANE, Secretary UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEORGE OTIS SMITH, Director Bulletin 652 4"^ TUNGSTEN MINERALS AND DEPOSITS BY FRANK L. HESS WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1917 ADDITIONAL COPIES OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON, D. C. AT 25 CENTS PER COPY CONTENTS. Page. Introduction.............................................................. , 7 Inquiries concerning tungsten......................................... 7 Survey publications on tungsten........................................ 7 Scope of this report.................................................... 9 Technical terms...................................................... 9 Tungsten................................................................. H Characteristics and properties........................................... n Uses................................................................. 15 Forms in which tungsten is found...................................... 18 Tungsten minerals........................................................ 19 Chemical and physical features......................................... 19 The wolframites...................................................... 21 Composition...................................................... 21 Ferberite......................................................... 22 Physical features.............................................. 22 Minerals of similar appearance.................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Effect of Grinding on Tremolite Asbestos and Anthophyllite Asbestos
    minerals Article The Effect of Grinding on Tremolite Asbestos and Anthophyllite Asbestos Andrea Bloise 1,* ID , Robert Kusiorowski 2 ID and Alessandro F. Gualtieri 3 1 Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Calabria, via Pietro Bucci, I-87036 Rende, CS, Italy 2 Institute of Ceramics and Building Materials, Refractory Materials Division in Gliwice, ul. Toszecka 99, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland; [email protected] 3 Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, I-41125 Modena, Italy; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +39-0984-493588 Received: 4 June 2018; Accepted: 25 June 2018; Published: 28 June 2018 Abstract: The six commercial asbestos minerals (chrysotile, fibrous actinolite, crocidolite, amosite, fibrous tremolite, and fibrous anthophyllite) are classified by the IARC as carcinogenic to humans. There are currently several lines of research dealing with the inertisation of asbestos minerals among which the dry grinding process has received considerable interest. The effects of dry grinding on tremolite asbestos and anthophyllite asbestos in eccentric vibration mills have not yet been investigated. Along the research line of the mechanical treatment of asbestos, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of dry grinding in eccentric vibration mills on the structure, temperature stability, and fibre dimensions of tremolite asbestos from Val d’Ala, (Italy) and UICC standard anthophyllite asbestos from Paakkila mine (Finland) by varying the grinding time (30 s, 5 min, and 10 min). After grinding for 30 s to 10 min, tremolite asbestos and anthophyllite asbestos showed a decrease in dehydroxylation and breakdown temperatures due to the increase in lattice strain and the decrease in crystallinity.
    [Show full text]
  • Vermiculite Is Not Asbestos
    VERMICULITE IS NOT ASBESTOS There are no real causes for concern about health risks from vermiculite: a review of the mineralogy of vermiculite and its fundamental differences to asbestos explains why. John Addison Addison-Lynch, Edingburgh February 1994 SUMMARY • Vermiculite is a sheet silicate mineral that is found as flaky crystals; it is not a fibrous mineral like asbestos. Fibres of vermiculite can be formed by breakage of the flakes or by curling of the edges of the flakes. Such mineral fibres do not constitute asbestos, and fibrous shape does not, by itself, mean that they will behave like asbestos. • Vermiculite dusts, including these fibrous fragment forms, have demonstrated very few if any health effects, other than those that could be expected from any low toxicity silicate. Unlike asbestos, vermiculite has shown very few ill-effects in experimental testing with animals. Chemical testing suggests that it may not stay long enough in the lung to do serious damage. • All vermiculite ores contain a range of other minerals that were formed along with the vermiculite in the rock. Vermiculite ores from some sources were even found to contain asbestos minerals but asbestos is not intrinsic to vermiculite and only a few ore bodies have been found to contain more than tiny trace amounts. Nevertheless serious public concern was generated because of the known occurrences of asbestos in vermiculite deposits such as those in Montana that were closed some years ago • Asbestos is the name given to a number of naturally occurring fibrous silicate minerals that have been exploited for their useful properties such as thermal insulation, chemical and thermal stability, and high tensile strength.
    [Show full text]
  • Minerals Found in Michigan Listed by County
    Michigan Minerals Listed by Mineral Name Based on MI DEQ GSD Bulletin 6 “Mineralogy of Michigan” Actinolite, Dickinson, Gogebic, Gratiot, and Anthonyite, Houghton County Marquette counties Anthophyllite, Dickinson, and Marquette counties Aegirinaugite, Marquette County Antigorite, Dickinson, and Marquette counties Aegirine, Marquette County Apatite, Baraga, Dickinson, Houghton, Iron, Albite, Dickinson, Gratiot, Houghton, Keweenaw, Kalkaska, Keweenaw, Marquette, and Monroe and Marquette counties counties Algodonite, Baraga, Houghton, Keweenaw, and Aphrosiderite, Gogebic, Iron, and Marquette Ontonagon counties counties Allanite, Gogebic, Iron, and Marquette counties Apophyllite, Houghton, and Keweenaw counties Almandite, Dickinson, Keweenaw, and Marquette Aragonite, Gogebic, Iron, Jackson, Marquette, and counties Monroe counties Alunite, Iron County Arsenopyrite, Marquette, and Menominee counties Analcite, Houghton, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon counties Atacamite, Houghton, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon counties Anatase, Gratiot, Houghton, Keweenaw, Marquette, and Ontonagon counties Augite, Dickinson, Genesee, Gratiot, Houghton, Iron, Keweenaw, Marquette, and Ontonagon counties Andalusite, Iron, and Marquette counties Awarurite, Marquette County Andesine, Keweenaw County Axinite, Gogebic, and Marquette counties Andradite, Dickinson County Azurite, Dickinson, Keweenaw, Marquette, and Anglesite, Marquette County Ontonagon counties Anhydrite, Bay, Berrien, Gratiot, Houghton, Babingtonite, Keweenaw County Isabella, Kalamazoo, Kent, Keweenaw, Macomb, Manistee,
    [Show full text]
  • Management of Asbestos in Vermiculite Insulation
    Management of Asbestos in Summary Asbestos Fibres Zonolite® - Vermiculite Insulation ‘Vermiculite’ insulation presents a small but identifiable risk to long term health. When it is identified in a building, it should be verified and isolated from the occupied spaces of the building. Personnel required to enter the space containing the vermiculite insulation must wear protective INFORMATION FOR PWS STAFF AND FACILITY USERS clothing and approved respiratory apparatus. For additional Information, contact Technical Support Services, Asset Management Division, Public Works and Services. ASBESTOS Minerals Containing The Issue: Purpose Asbestos Fibres Some vermiculite insulation This document is to inform PWS staff about vermiculite may contain amphibole loose fill thermal insulation and provide operational safety asbestos bres. These guidelines for use when vermiculite is present in a building. products can cause health Loose fill insulation is usually installed in attic spaces above risks if disturbed during ceilings, and occasionally in the sealed compartments What is Vermiculite? maintenance, renovation or between studs in wood frame construction or as fill in cement block construction. Vermiculite was also used in demolition. However, there Vermiculite is a naturally occurring fireproofing materials, and as a lightweight aggregate in is currently no evidence of “mica-like” mineral that was mined construction materials. risk to your health if the and processed into attic insulation insulation is sealed starting in the 1920’s and ending in Vermiculite is a shiny mineral, similar to mica, which pops (encapsulated) behind the early 1990’s. When heated to like corn when heated. The puffy product, as light as cork, wallboards and oorboards, around 1000 degrees C, it pops (or was once a popular form of building insulation and is still an isolated in an attic, or puffs up) which creates pockets of ingredient in potting soil.
    [Show full text]
  • Comparison of Calcite + Dolomite Thermometry and Carbonate +
    American Mineralogist, Volume 80, pages 131-143, 1995 Comparison of calcite + dolomite thermometry and carbonate + silicate equilibria: Constraints on the conditions of metamorphism of the Llano uplift, central Texas, U.S.A. CHERITH M. R. LETARGO,WILLIAM M. LAMB* Department of Geology and Geophysics, Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas 77843, U.S.A. JONG-SIM PARK** Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, U.S.A. ABSTRACT Temperatures based on the composition of calcite coexisting with dolomite (calcite + dolomite thermometry) range from 475 to 600°C for 63 marbles from the Llano uplift of central Texas. The highest temperatures, -600°C, were obtained by carefully reintegrating calcite containing exsolved lamellae of dolomite. In some cases, these high temperatures were determined for marbles that contain an isobarically invariant assemblage consisting of calcite + dolomite + tremolite + diopside + forsterite. At a pressure of 3 kbar, these five minerals are stable at 630 OCand Xco, = 0.62. In contrast, relatively low calcite + dolomite temperatures of 475-480 °Cwere obtained for marbles containing the assemblage calcite + dolomite + tremolite + talc. This talc-bearing assemblage is stable at ~475 OC, depending on fluid composition, at a pressure of 3 kbar. Additional isobarically univariant equilibria are stable at intermediate temperatures (generally between 535 and 630 0q, and these are also generally consistent with results obtained from calcite + dolomite thermom-
    [Show full text]
  • Thermal Stability and Oxidation Processes in Amphiboles on the Tremolite – Ferro-Actinolite Join Studied by Raman Spectroscopy
    Thermal stability and oxidation processes in amphiboles on the tremolite – ferro-actinolite join studied by Raman spectroscopy Bachelor Thesis Mineralogisch-Petrographisches Institut Universität Hamburg Constanze Rösche Supervised by: Prof. Dr. Boriana Mihailova Prof. Dr. Jochen Schlüter Date of submission: 01.11.2018 Thermal stability and oxidation processes in amphiboles on the tremolite – ferro-actinolite join studied by Raman spectroscopy Abstract In this study an actinolite, the intermediate member of the tremolite – ferro-actinolite series, 2+ ideally Ca2(Mg,Fe )Si8O22(OH)2, has been examined regarding its thermal stability and oxidation behavior by conducting in situ Raman spectroscopic experiments. Spectra have been recorded in the ranges from 15-1215 cm-1 and 3370-3770 cm-1 at temperatures from 100-870 K in nitrogen atmosphere and at temperatures from room temperature to 1300 K in air. The heat treatment in nitrogen atmosphere did not cause any irreversible changes while on heating in air divalent iron is oxidized. At 1100 K hydrogen cations bonded to the oxygen anion at the W-site of the amphibole structure and electrons associated to Fe2+ at the octahedral sites start to delocalize but remain inside the crystal matrix. The delocalization is completed at 1300 K. When cooling to room temperature the initial state is only partly recovered. Therefore some hydrogen and electrons must have been ejected from the crystal. Changes in peak positions and intensities, new appearing and disappearing peaks indicate that some divalent iron has been oxidized to trivalent iron. In the final spectrum the peaks related to the chemical configurations M(1)M(1)M(3)Fe2+MgMg–A□ and M(1)M(1)M(3)Fe2+MgMg–A-site appear strongly shifted to lower wavenumbers with a decreased intensity, which indicates that the configurations have changed to M(1)M(1)M(3)Fe3+MgMg–A□ and M(1)M(1)M(3)Fe3+MgMg–A-site.
    [Show full text]
  • Tremolite–Calcite Veins in the Footwall of the Simplon Fault, Antigorio Valley, Lepontine Alps (Italy)
    Swiss J Geosci (2011) 104:355–365 DOI 10.1007/s00015-011-0074-0 Tremolite–calcite veins in the footwall of the Simplon Fault, Antigorio Valley, Lepontine Alps (Italy) Vito Meggiolaro • Michele Sapigni • Anna Maria Fioretti Received: 23 February 2011 / Accepted: 19 August 2011 / Published online: 19 October 2011 Ó Swiss Geological Society 2011 Abstract The lowermost units of the nappe pile of the 450 and 490°C and minimum pressure of 2–3 kbar. Such Lepontine Alps crop out in the Antigorio valley in the foot- temperature conditions occurred in this footwall region of wall of the Simplon Fault. The whole orthogneiss section of the Simplon Fault Zone around 15 Ma, during exhumation the Antigorio Unit is exposed on both sides of the valley, and cooling of the nappe pile and a transition to brittle sandwiched between the Mesozoic metasedimentary behaviour. Aqueous, silica-rich fluids concentrated along sequences of the Baceno unit below and the Te`ggiolo unit fractures, forming tremolite–calcite veins in the dolomite above. The petrography and mineral composition of tremo- marbles and quartz veins in the orthogneiss. lite–calcite veins occurring in dolomite marble in both metasedimentary sequences were investigated. Tremolite– Keywords Tremolite Á Vein Á Simplon Á Antigorio valley calcite (with lesser talc and minor phlogopite) veins have rhythmic banded texture. Banding is due to cyclic differ- ences in modal abundances and fabric of tremolite and 1 Introduction calcite. These veins are very similar to those occurring in dolomite rafts within the Bergell granite and it is inferred that The Lepontine dome is one of the best studied areas of the they formed by the same ‘‘fracture-reaction-seal’’ mecha- central Penninic Alps, and its structural and metamorphic nism.
    [Show full text]
  • Identification Tables for Common Minerals in Thin Section
    Identification Tables for Common Minerals in Thin Section These tables provide a concise summary of the properties of a range of common minerals. Within the tables, minerals are arranged by colour so as to help with identification. If a mineral commonly has a range of colours, it will appear once for each colour. To identify an unknown mineral, start by answering the following questions: (1) What colour is the mineral? (2) What is the relief of the mineral? (3) Do you think you are looking at an igneous, metamorphic or sedimentary rock? Go to the chart, and scan the properties. Within each colour group, minerals are arranged in order of increasing refractive index (which more or less corresponds to relief). This should at once limit you to only a few minerals. By looking at the chart, see which properties might help you distinguish between the possibilities. Then, look at the mineral again, and check these further details. Notes: (i) Name: names listed here may be strict mineral names (e.g., andalusite), or group names (e.g., chlorite), or distinctive variety names (e.g., titanian augite). These tables contain a personal selection of some of the more common minerals. Remember that there are nearly 4000 minerals, although 95% of these are rare or very rare. The minerals in here probably make up 95% of medium and coarse-grained rocks in the crust. (ii) IMS: this gives a simple assessment of whether the mineral is common in igneous (I), metamorphic (M) or sedimentary (S) rocks. These are not infallible guides - in particular many igneous and metamorphic minerals can occur occasionally in sediments.
    [Show full text]
  • The Tremolite-Actinolite-Ferro–Actinolite Series
    American Mineralogist, Volume 85, pages 1239–1254, 2000 The tremolite-actinolite-ferro–actinolite series: Systematic relationships among cell parameters, composition, optical properties, and habit, and evidence of discontinuities JENNIFER R. VERKOUTEREN1,* AND ANN G. WYLIE2 1Chemical Sciences and Technology Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, U.S.A. 2Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, Department of Geology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, U.S.A. ABSTRACT Unit-cell parameters, optical properties, and chemical compositions have been measured for 103 samples in the tremolite-actinolite-ferro-actinolite series. The average values of the non-essential constituents are: TAl = 0.10(11), CAl = 0.06(6), B(Fe, Mn, Mg) = 0.09(7), BNa = 0.04(5), ANa = 0.09(9), and Cr, Ti, and K ≅ 0. Asbestiform actinolite samples have lower Al contents than massive or “byssolitic” actinolite samples. Unit-cell parameters for end members tremolite and ferro-actino- lite based on regressions of the data are: a = 9.841 ± 0.003 Å, 10.021 ± 0.011 Å; b = 18.055 ± 0.004 Å, 18.353 ± 0.018 Å; c = 5.278 ± 0.001 Å, 5.315 ± 0.003 Å; and cell volume = 906.6 ± 0.5 Å3, 944 ± 2 Å3. The changes in a, b, and cell volume with ferro-actinolite substitution are modeled with quadratic functions, and the change in c with ferro-actinolite substitution is modeled with a linear function. There is a positive correlation between c and Al that results in a discrimination between asbestiform and massive or “byssolitic” habits for c and for the refractive indices.
    [Show full text]