The Regulatory and Mineralogical Definitions of Asbestos and Their impact on Amphibole Dust Analysis

Although a familiar occupational health topic, the term asbestos generally is not well understood. Significant differences between mineralogical regulatory definitions sustain the confusion. Definitional ambiguity is addressed and its effect upon the characterization of New York State tremolitic talc are investigated. Analysis of asbestiform and nonasbestiform airborne dust populations clearly demonstrates the nonspecificity of the regulatory definition and the 3:1 aspect ratio “fiber” counting scheme. Shifting to a higher aspect ratio would reduce false positives radically without a loss in sensitivity for true asbestos. Any change in aspect ratio, however, must be accompanied by a mineralogically correct definition of asbestos if proper mineral characterization is to be assured.