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Introduction: Asbestos is a generic term that is used to describe a variety of natural hydrous silicate minerals that, upon mechanical processing, separate into fine fibers. They are usually thin, long and tubular in shape. Their size can range from 0.2 um to more than 5 um with a length to width ratio of 3 to 1 or longer. There are two fundamental varieties of asbestos: Serpentines and amphiboles. Serpentine is known as chrysotile and they make up 95% of the asbestos. Amphiboles include five species and their names and chemical composition are shown in the Table below:
Asbestos variety and their composition
Variety
| Species
| Chemical composition
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Serpentine | Chrysotile | 3MgO.2SiO2.2H2O
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Amphibole | Anthophyllite | 7MgO.8SiO2.2H20
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Amphibole | Amosite | 11FeO.3MgO.8SiO2.2H20
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Amphibole | Actinolite | 2CaO.4MgO.FeO. 8SiO2.2H20
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Amphibole | Tremolite | 2CaO.5MgO. 8SiO2.2H20
|
Amphibole | Crocidolite | Na2O.Fe2O3.3FeO. 8SiO2.2H20
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