Naturally Occurring Asbestos in France: Geological Mapping, Mineral Characterization, and Technical Developments

Abstract

In France, asbestos was banned by national decree (no. 96-1133) in 1996. The regulatory texts and standards adopted to implement this ban are concerned primarily with asbestos-containing manufactured products and are difficult to apply to asbestos-bearing natural materials (i.e., rocks and soils). Considering problems related to asbestos-bearing natural materials, the French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development, and Energy has mandated the French Geological Survey to map locations where asbestos-bearing rocks are found. Mapping was prioritized to geological domains where naturally occurring asbestos (NOA) was predictable (e.g., the Western Alps and Corsica). These studies integrated field expertise, sampling, and laboratory analysis data to characterize the potential of geological units to contain NOA. Additionally, studies were conducted on geological formations exploited to produce aggregates. These studies were focused on quarries excavating massive, basic or ultrabasic rocks likely to contain NOA and quarries mining alluvium likely to contain asbestos-bearing rock pebbles. These studies highlight the difficulty of establishing robust analytical procedures for natural materials. The distinction between cleavage fragments (resulting from the fragmentation of non-asbestos particles) and proper asbestos fibers is particularly problematic for laboratories. Thus, a recent study by the National Agency for Health Safety, Food, Environment, and Work recommends applying the asbestos regulation to elongated mineral particles (length/depth > 3:1, length > 5 μm, depth < 3 μm) with chemical composition corresponding to one of the five regulated amphibole species regardless of their mode of crystallization (asbestiform or non-asbestiform). The upcoming regulatory changes are part of a decree published in 2017, including the prior identification of asbestos in natural soils or rocks likely to be impacted by ground-disturbing construction activities. Specific protocols will be defined for sampling, analysis, and characterization of natural materials that may contain asbestos.

Natural occurrence of asbestos in serpentinite quarries from Southern Spain

“…In particular, three main disease types have been documented directly related to asbestos: i) asbestosis; ii) lung cancer; and iii) mesothelioma. Furthermore, an association between the increase in the onset of lung diseases and the non-occupational exposure to asbestos fibres has been also observed, showing that they represent a risk for both workers and people who live near to Naturally Occurring Asbestos (NOA) outcrops (Acosta et al 1997;Constantopoulos 2008;Pereira et al 2008;Pugnaloni et al 2013;Bloise et al 2014;Berk et al 2014;Baumann et al 2015;Bellomo et al 2018;Cagnard and Lahondère 2020).…”

Occurrence of asbestos in soils: state of the art

“…The term NOA means the asbestos fibres present in rocks (i.e., serpentinite or altered ultramafic rocks) and soils, referring to those that have not been extracted for commercial purposes (Bloise et al, 2008;Harper, 2008;Pugnaloni et al, 2013;Belluso et al, 2020;Bailey 2020a,b;Cahill 2020;Cagnard et al, 2020;Erskine 2020;Gualtieri 2020;Léocat 2020;Pierdzig 2020;Wroble et al, 2020). The natural asbestos occurrences is widespread in the environment, some examples include chrysotile deposits in Ural Mountains in the Russian Federation (Ross and Nolan, 2003), Appalachian Mountains (USA), Canada (Virta, 2006) and also in India, China, Italy, South Africa, Australia, Greece, Cyprus (Ross and Nolan, 2003) and other countries.…”