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Analysis of erionites from volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks and possible implications for toxicological research

  • Martin Harper EMAIL logo , Alan Dozier , Julie Chouinard and Robyn Ray
Published/Copyright: July 31, 2017
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American Mineralogist
From the journal American Mineralogist Volume 102 Issue 8

Abstract

Erionite occurs in volcaniclastic rocks and soils; in some villages in Turkey the presence of erionite in local rocks is associated with mesothelioma, a disease also associated with inhalation of airborne asbestos. Since volcaniclastic rocks containing erionite are widely present in the western U.S.A., there is a concern over potential health issues following inhalation of dust particles in these areas and thus there is a need to identify and quantify erionite particles found in air samples during hygienic investigations. Previous attempts to analyze the few micrometer-sized erionite particles found on air sample filters under transmission electron microscope (TEM) encountered difficulties due to electron beam damage. Recommendations are presented for accurate analysis by both energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and selected-area electron diffraction (SAED). Much of the work previously published to establish the crystal chemistry of erionite has involved the relatively large crystals found in vesicles in extrusive volcanic rocks. Analysis of these crystals gives a weight percent ratio of Si to Al in a narrow range around 2.7 (molar ratio 2.6), consistent with a unit-cell formula Al10Si26. In addition, the cation contents of these crystals generally meet the charge balance error formula for zeolites. However, erionites formed in volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks (tuffs) have very different Si:Al weight percent ratios, around 4.0, which is above the upper range for the analyses of the crystals found in vesicles. Analysis of many particles in samples from different locations reveal two other major differences between the erionites from the sedimentary situations and those found in vesicles. (1) The extra-framework alkali cation (Na, K, Ca) contents are lower than required for a stoichiometric balance with framework Al substitution for Si so that the cation charge balance error formula limits for zeolites are not met. (2) There is a large variability in measured cation contents from particle to particle from the same source as well as substantial differences in average compositions from different sources. However, sedimentary erionites cannot be termed a separate mineral species because the crystallographic data are consistent with erionite and new zeolite names cannot be proposed on the basis of Si:Al ratios alone. In addition to chemical differences between erionite from different sources, there are also morphological differences. By analogy with asbestos minerals, differences in composition and morphology may have implications for relative toxicity, and future research should include consideration of these aspects.

Keywords: Analysis; chemical (mineral); erionite; electron microscopy; medical mineralogy; zeolites
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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Diane Schwegler-Berry (NIOSH) for Figures 4 and 6, Stacy Doorn (RTI) using Duke University equipment for Figure 5, International Asbestos Testing Laboratories (IATL) for Figure 1, and the colleagues who assisted in field specimen collections. EPMA analyses (Julie Chouinard) were provided for-fee from NIOSH.

Disclaimer: The findings and conclusion in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

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Received: 2017-1-5
Accepted: 2017-4-28
Published Online: 2017-7-31
Published in Print: 2017-8-28

© 2017 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston

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https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2017-6069
Keywords for this article
Analysis; chemical (mineral); erionite; electron microscopy; medical mineralogy; zeolites

Articles in the same Issue

  2. How many boron minerals occur in Earth’s upper crust?
  3. Outlooks in Earth and Planetary Materials
  4. Network analysis of mineralogical systems
  5. Special collection: From magmas to ore deposits
  6. Geochemistry of the Cretaceous Kaskanak Batholith and genesis of the Pebble porphyry Cu-Au-Mo deposit, Southwest Alaska
  7. Special collection: From magmas to ore deposits
  8. Physicochemical controls on bismuth mineralization: An example from Moutoulas, Serifos Island, Cyclades, Greece
  9. Special collection: Earth analogs for martian geological materials and processes
  10. Geochemistry and mineralogy of a saprolite developed on Columbia River Basalt: Secondary clay formation, element leaching, and mass balance during weathering
  11. Special collection: Apatite: A common mineral, uncommonly versatile
  12. An ab-initio study of the energetics and geometry of sulfide, sulfite, and sulfate incorporation into apatite: The thermodynamic basis for using this system as an oxybarometer
  13. Special collection: Dynamics of magmatic processes
  14. The role of modifier cations in network cation coordination increases with pressure in aluminosilicate glasses and melts from 1 to 3 GPa
  16. Nitrides and carbonitrides from the lowermost mantle and their importance in the search for Earth’s “lost” nitrogen
  18. Accounting for the species-dependence of the 3500 cm−1 H2Ot infrared molar absorptivity coefficient: Implications for hydrated volcanic glasses
  20. A finite strain approach to thermal expansivity’s pressure dependence
  22. Ilmenite breakdown and rutile-titanite stability in metagranitoids: Natural observations and experimental results
  24. Single-crystal equations of state of magnesiowüstite at high pressures
  26. Analysis of erionites from volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks and possible implications for toxicological research
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  36. Dolomite-IV: Candidate structure for a carbonate in the Earth’s lower mantle
  37. Book Review
  38. Book Review
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