SYMPOSIA PAPER Published: 20 December 2021
STP163220200054

Quantification of Amphibole in Chrysotile Asbestos-Containing Products

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The results of analysis for amphibole fibers in 140 samples of finished products containing chrysotile asbestos are presented in terms of weight percent and fibers per gram. The products include friction materials, joint compounds, roof cements, floor tiles, a dryer felt, dental tapes, insulating paper (heat shields) from vintage consumer electronics, gaskets, packing, electrical components, cement boards, and resin boards. The levels of amphibole asbestos in the products ranged from approximately 0.00005% to 0.5%. Although all the levels were below 1% in terms of weight percent, there were between 540,000 and 2.7 billion amphibole fibers per gram of product. Two independent subsets of analyzed samples (friction and nonfriction) were carefully examined to determine the size ranges and average statistics for individual amphibole fibers. In both subsets, more than 98% of the fibers are less than 1 μm in width and the average width is 0.25 μm. Fiber lengths range from 0.5 μm, the minimum reportable length, to more than 24 μm with average lengths of 3.2 μm (friction) and 3.6 μm (nonfriction). Fiber aspect ratios range from 5, the minimum reported aspect ratio, to more than 122 with average aspect ratios of 15:1 (friction) and 17:1 (nonfriction).

Author Information

Compton, Steven, P.
MVA Scientific Consultants, Duluth, GA, US
Millette, James, R.
Millette Technical Consulting, Lilburn, GA, US
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Pages: 341–363
DOI: 10.1520/STP163220200054
ISBN-EB: 978-0-8031-7711-6
ISBN-13: 978-0-8031-7710-9