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Abstract Background Asbestos lung content is regarded as the most reliable tool for causal attribution of malignant mesothelioma (MM) to previous asbestos exposures. However, there is a lack of studies on asbestos burden in lungs of MM patients in comparison with healthy individuals. This study aims to provide such a comparison, investigating, as well, differences in asbestos lung burden with sex and time trends. Methods Asbestos lung content has been assessed on formalin-fixed lung fragments using scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersion spectroscopy (SEM–EDS) on individuals deceased from MM (cases) and healthy subjects without any lung disease who died from violent causes (controls) between 2005 and 2023. Results Asbestos and asbestos bodies (ABs) were found, respectively, in 73.7% and 43.2% of cases and in 28 and 22% of controls; in MM cases the most represented asbestos types were crocidolite and amosite, whereas in controls it was tremolite-actinolite asbestos. The concentration of both asbestos fibers and ABs was statistically significantly higher in MM cases compared to controls. The mean asbestos fibers width was also significantly higher in cases than controls. Males and females with MM showed similar asbestos and ABs concentrations, but females had higher concentrations of chrysotile, and significantly lower fibers width compared to males. Time trends show that MM lung asbestos concentrations decreased starting in 2011. Discussion The results suggest a correlation between asbestos burden in lungs and MM risk. The different concentration of chrysotile, as well as the different width of asbestos fibers in MM males and females might reflect a sex difference in response of the lung microenvironment to inhaled asbestos. Finally, this study provides the first pathological evidence of the effect of the ban of asbestos use, demonstrating a significant decrease of asbestos lung content after 2011.

Background: Asbestos exposure and its pathological consequences, especially malignant mesothelioma (MM) still represent a major public health problem on a global scale. After the ban of asbestos in most western countries, nonoccupational exposure plays an essential role in MM pathogenesis. However, few studies have quantified asbestos lung burden after environmental exposure. The main objective of this work is to understand if asbestos lung content is different between occupationally and environmentally exposed individuals, and if the distance between the subjects' residences and the source of exposure is significantly associated with the asbestos lung burden., Methods: In this retrospective, observational study we quantified, with analytical scanning electron microscopy, asbestos content in lungs of individuals deceased from MM between 2005 and 2019, who were exposed to asbestos (occupationally and/or environmentally) in Broni, a small town in northern Italy where an important asbestos-cement plant operated until 1993., Results: We analyzed asbestos lung content of 77 subjects. We found that the asbestos lung content in MM patients who lived around the asbestos factory was as high as that seen in occupationally exposed individuals; this holds true in residents up to 10 km radius from the factory. We found no significant associations between the residence duration/distance ratio and asbestos lung burden., Conclusions: This study suggests that heavy asbestos pollution involves not only the area adjacent to the factory, but the entire town of Broni and the surroundings. This is alarming if we consider that most asbestos factories still active in some countries are located close to towns and dwellings., (© 2024 The Author(s). American Journal of Industrial Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The discovery of the detrimental effects of asbestos on human health came long after its widespread use, with the first scientific evidence of asbestos-related diseases emerging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Despite efforts to ban its use, asbestos continues to be mined and used in Central Asia (as well as in Russia, China, and other countries). To gain a deeper understanding of the situation in Central Asia, we have conducted a systematic review of scientific literature on the use of asbestos, exposure assessment, and health consequences of asbestos exposure in this geographic area. This review encompasses studies about exposure assessments, epidemiological data, and biochemical or clinical surveys conducted in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan. A total of 18 articles met the inclusion criteria, and their content is summarised in this review, which represents the first attempt to systematically examine research on asbestos and its impact on the health of workers and the general population in Central Asia countries, including literature published in Russian and English. The findings here highlighted the substantial limitations of the currently available knowledge about the impact of asbestos on health in this geographical area.

Background: Respirable mineral particles can induce lower airway inflammation, but the role they play in asthma of horses is unknown., Objectives: Respirable mineral particles, particularly respirable silica, are an overlooked determinant of chronic lung inflammation (asthma) in horses., Animals: Twenty-three horses from an equine hospital population: 11 moderately affected (MEA), 7 severely asthmatic (SEA), and 5 control horses free from respiratory clinical signs., Methods: Prospective observational study. The quantity and quality of mineral particles found in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were characterized, with particular attention to silica content. Polarized light microscopy performed on cytospin slides identified intracellular birefringent particles as silica. Spectrometry-based analysis performed on whole BALF determined total mineral and silica percentage and concentration. Group-related differences in BALF mineral and silica load were investigated as well as associations with BALF cytology., Results: Intracellular birefringent particles were increased in SEA vs MEA (median [interquartile range, IQR]), 12 [7] vs 4 [5] particles/30 high power fields [hpf], respectively; P = .01) and vs controls (4 [2] particles/30 hpf; P = .02). Total mineral concentration in BALF was similar between the groups studied, whereas silica concentration and percentage were increased in SEA vs MEA (1758 [887] particles/mL and 20 [10]% vs 867 [662] particles/mL and 8 [6]%; P = .009 and P = .001) and control group (355 [330] particles/mL and 6 [3]%; P = .0003 and P = .002). Silica load in BALF was associated with BALF neutrophilia in MEA and SEA., Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Respirable silica is associated with neutrophilic lower airway inflammation in horses and might contribute to asthma development., (© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.)

The causal attribution of asbestos-related diseases to past asbestos exposures is of crucial importance in clinical and legal contexts. Often this evaluation is made based on the history of exposure, but this method presents important limitations. To assess past asbestos exposure, pleural plaques (PP), lung fibrosis and histological evidence of ferruginous bodies (FB) can be used in combination with anamnestic data. However, such markers have never been associated with a threshold value of inhaled asbestos. With this study we attempted to shed light on the dose-response relationship of PP, lung fibrosis and FBs, investigating if their prevalence in exposed individuals who died from malignant mesothelioma (MM) is related to the concentration of asbestos in lungs assessed using scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy. Moreover, we estimated the values of asbestos concentration in lungs associated with PP, lung fibrosis and FB. Lung fibrosis showed a significant positive relationship with asbestos lung content, whereas PP and FB did not. We identified, for the first time, critical lung concentrations of asbestos related to the presence of PP, lung fibrosis and FB at histology (respectively, 19 800, 26 400 and 27 400 fibers per gram of dry weight), that were all well-below the background levels of asbestos identified in our laboratory. Such data suggest that PP, lung fibrosis and FB at histology should be used with caution in the causal attribution of MM to past asbestos exposures, while evaluation of amphibole lung content using analytical electron microscopy should be preferred., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: In Italy the incidence of malignant mesothelioma (MM) among women is remarkably high, due to the several contexts in which women had been exposed to asbestos. However, very few studies in literature focus on the inorganic lung content in women. The aim of this retrospective, observational study is to investigate the asbestos lung burden, in terms of concentration, dimensions and type of asbestos, in 42 women who died from MM and had been non-occupationally exposed to asbestos during the activity of the asbestos-cement plant located in Broni (Pavia, Northern Italy) where mainly chrysotile, crocidolite and amosite were used., Methods: Lung samples taken during forensic autopsies have been digested using sodium hypochlorite and filtered through a cellulose-ester membrane. The filter was examined using a scanning electron microscope and the chemical composition of the fibers was analyzed using an electron dispersive spectroscopy. The number of detected inorganic fibers, asbestos fibers and asbestos bodies (ABs) were normalized to 1 gram of dry tissue., Results: In six samples no asbestos has been detected. Overall, the most represented kind of asbestos was amosite, followed by crocidolite, tremolite/actinolite asbestos and chrysotile. The concentration of all inorganic fibers was significantly higher in women with environmental and household exposures compared with those with only environmental exposure (P=0.025), as well as the concentration of asbestos fibers (P=0.019) and ABs (P=0.049). We found a significant correlation between the concentration of asbestos fibers and the duration of exposure (rho =0.413, P=0.008), as well as with the latency of MM (rho =0.427, P=0.005). The distance of the residential address from the factory and the time spent daily in contact with asbestos did not influence the lung asbestos burden., Conclusions: These results suggest the relevance of the lung clearance of asbestos, regarding mainly chrysotile. As a consequence, although scanning electron microscopy -energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) is considered the most reliable tool for assessing previous exposure to asbestos, its results should be interpreted with caution, especially in a legal context. In addition, our data confirm the relevance of environmental and household exposure in determining asbestos concentration in lungs and highlight the importance of household exposure., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://jtd.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/jtd-23-1061/coif). C.C. and E.B. acted as experts in trials and litigations concerning asbestos (not related to the subjects of this study). The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2023 Journal of Thoracic Disease. All rights reserved.)

Asbestos is widely recognized as being a carcinogen when dispersed in air, but very little is known about its exposure pathways in water and its subsequent effects on human health. Several studies have proved asbestos presence in groundwater but failed to assess its mobility in aquifer systems. This paper aims to fill this gap by studying the transport of crocidolite, an amphibole asbestos, through sandy porous media mimicking different aquifer systems. To this purpose, two sets of column test were performed varying the crocidolite suspension concentration, the quartz sand grain size distribution, and the physicochemical water parameters (i.e., pH). The results proved that crocidolite is mobile in quartz sand due to the repulsive interactions between fibres and porous media. The concentration of fibres at the outlet of the column were found to decrease when decreasing the grain size distribution of the porous medium, with a bigger impact on highly concentrated suspensions. In particular, 5-to-10-µm-long fibres were able to flow through all the tested sands while fibres longer than 10 µm were mobile only through the coarser medium. These results confirm that groundwater migration should be considered a potential exposure pathway while implementing human health risk assessment., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The environmental impact of natural occurrences of asbestos (NOA) and asbestos-like minerals is a growing concern for environmental protection agencies. The lack of shared sampling and analytical procedures hinders effectively addressing this issue. To investigate the hazard posed by NOA, a multidisciplinary approach that encompasses geology, mineralogy, chemistry, and toxicology is proposed and demonstrated here, on a natural occurrence of antigorite from a site in Varenna Valley, Italy. Antigorite is, together with chrysotile asbestos, one of the serpentine polymorphs and its toxicological profile is still under debate. We described field and petrographic analyses required to sample a vein and to evaluate the NOA-hazard. A combination of standardized mechanical stress and automated morphometrical analyses on milled samples allowed to quantify the asbestos-like morphology. The low congruent solubility in acidic simulated body fluid, together with the toxicity-relevant surface reactivity due to iron speciation, signalled a bio-activity similar or even greater to that of chrysotile. Structural information on the genetic mechanism of antigorite asbestos-like fibres in nature were provided. Overall, the NOA site was reported to contain veins of asbestos-like antigorite and should be regarded as source of potentially toxic fibres during hazard assessment procedure., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Asbestos occurrence has been mainly monitored in air so far and only limitedly considered in other matrices, such as water. Waterborne asbestos could originate from natural or anthropogenic sources, leading to non-conventional exposure scenarios. It could be a secondary source of airborne asbestos in case of water-to-air migration, particularly in case of surface moving water, such as in rivers and streams. The scarce attention dedicated to waterborne asbestos has led to a considerable fragmentation in regulatory approaches regarding the study of water samples possibly contaminated by mineral fibres. In this context, this study has been designed to test the reliability of an existing analytical method devoted to natural waters investigations. Following the operational protocol issued by the Piedmont (Italy) Environmental Protection Agency, Scanning Electron Microscopy analyses have been performed on a standard sample of waterborne chrysotile, mimicking stream water. The investigations have been performed by different operators and using different analytical setups, to verify whether the method applied has a good interlaboratory reproducibility and which could be the most error-prone analytical steps. Three data sets have been obtained on the same sample, showing a low reproducibility among each other. Possible reasons causing this discrepancy have been discussed in detail and good practices to perform reliable analyses on surface water samples containing asbestos have been proposed to help the regulatory organs to better define analytical protocols., Competing Interests: Authors MB, ML, and GM are employed by RSA Srl, Società per il Risanamento e lo Sviluppo Ambientale dell’ex miniera di amianto di Balangero e Corio, Balangero (TO), Italy. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest, (Copyright © 2023 Avataneo, Capella, Luiso, Marangoni, Lasagna, De Luca, Bergamini, Belluso and Turci.)

Background: In both the epidemiological and legal context, the causal attribution of asbestos-related lung diseases requires retrospective exposure assessment (REA)., Aims: To assess the correlation between the retrospective assessment of occupational and anthropogenic environmental exposure to asbestos and its content in the lung tissue., Methods: Based on the available exposure information, a team of occupational physicians retrospectively assessed cumulative exposure to asbestos in 24 subjects who died of asbestos-related diseases. The asbestos lung content was analysed using analytical scanning electron microscope (SEM-EDS). The Log10 asbestos fibre count in the autoptic samples was predicted as a function of the Log10 estimated cumulative exposure using univariate regression analysis., Results: The median count of asbestos fibres by grams of dry weight (ff/gdw) in the lung tissue was 81 339 (range 0-2 135 849.06); it was 287 144 (range 0-2 135 849.06) among the occupationally exposed, and 29 671 (range 0-116 891) among the subjects who only had anthropogenic environmental and/or household exposure. Amphiboles, and particularly amosite (52%) and crocidolite (43%), were detected in all the study subjects. Chrysotile was not detected in any of the samples. Overall, the retrospective estimate of lifetime cumulative exposure to asbestos showed a moderate correlation with the total asbestos fibre count in the autoptic lung, with the regression model explaining 38-55% of the total variance., Conclusions: Detailed information on occupational, environmental and household exposure circumstances would be indispensable for experienced industrial hygienists and/or occupational physicians to reliably assess past exposure to amphiboles or mixed types of asbestos., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

There are six elongate mineral particles (EMPs) corresponding to specific dimensional and morphological criteria, known as asbestos. Responsible for health issues including asbestosis, and malignant mesothelioma, asbestos has been well researched. Despite this, significant exposure continues to occur throughout the world, potentially affecting 125 million people in the workplace and causing thousands of deaths annually from exposure in homes. However, there are other EMPS, such as fibrous/asbestiform erionite, that are classified as carcinogens and have been linked to cancers in areas where it has been incorporated into local building materials or released into the environment through earthmoving activities. Erionite is a more potent carcinogen than asbestos but as it is seldom used for commercial purposes, exposure pathways have been less well studied. Despite the apparent similarities between asbestos and fibrous erionite, their health risks and exposure pathways are quite different. This article examines the hazards presented by EMPs with a particular focus on fibrous erionite. It includes a discussion of the global locations of erionite and similar hazardous minerals, a comparison of the multiple exposure pathways for asbestos and fibrous erionite, a brief discussion of the confusing nomenclature associated with EMPs, and considerations of increasing global mesothelioma cases.

In Naturally Occurring Asbestos (NOA) rich areas, water flows through asbestos bearing rocks and soils and generates waterborne fibres that may migrate in air and become a risk for humans. Research on the migration and dispersion after water vaporisation has been so far only marginally evaluated. This study investigates the migration in air of asbestos from a set of suspensions contaminated by chrysotile from Balangero (Italy), under controlled laboratory conditions. We evaluated i) the morphological modifications that might occur to chrysotile during migration from water to air, and ii) the amount of airborne chrysotile mobilised from standardised suspensions. Morphological alteration of asbestos fibres occurred during water-air migration and impacted on the analytical response of electron microscopy. Waterborne asbestos concentration higher than 40 ∙ 10 6 f/L generates in air concentration higher than 1 fibre per litre [f/L], the alarm threshold limit set by World Health Organization for airborne asbestos. A possible correlation between the waterborne fibre concentration as mass or number of fibres per volume unit [μg/L or f/L] was observed., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In the lungs, asbestos develops an Fe-rich coating (Asbestos Body, AB) that becomes the actual interface between the foreign fibers and the host organism. Conventional approaches to study ABs require an invasive sample preparation that can alter them. In this work, a novel combination of x-ray tomography and spectroscopy allowed studying unaltered lung tissue samples with chrysotile and crocidolite asbestos. The thickness and mass density maps of the ABs obtained by x-ray tomography were used to derive a truly quantitative elemental analysis from scanning x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy data. The average mass density of the ABs is compatible with that of highly loaded ferritin, or hemosiderin. The composition of all ABs analyzed was similar, with only minor differences in the relative elemental fractions. Silicon concentration decreased in the core-to-rim direction, indicating a possible partial dissolution of the inner fiber. The Fe content in the ABs was higher than that possibly contained in chrysotile and crocidolite. This finding opens two opposite scenarios, the first with Fe coming from the fiber bulk and concentrating on the surface as long as the fiber dissolves, the second where the Fe that takes part to the formation of the AB originates from the host organism Fe-pool., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Biodurability is one of the main determinants of asbestos hazardousness for human health. Very little is known about the actual persistence of asbestos in lungs and its clearance, nor about differences in this regard between the different mineralogical types of asbestos. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the amount, the dimensional characteristics and the mineralogic kinds of asbestos in lungs (measured using SEM-EDS) of a series of 72 deceased subjects who were certainly exposed to asbestos (mainly crocidolite and chrysotile) during their life. Moreover, we investigated possible correlations between the lung burden of asbestos (in general and considering each asbestos type), as well as their dimension (length, width, and l/w ratio) and the duration of exposure, the latency- in case of malignant mesothelioma (MM), the survival and the time since the end of exposure. In 62.5% of subjects, asbestos burden in lungs was lower that the threshold considered demonstrative for occupational exposure. In 29.1% of cases no asbestos was found. Chrysotile was practically not detected. The mean length of asbestos fibers and the length to width ratio were significantly related to the duration of exposure to asbestos. No other statistically significant correlations were found between the amount and dimensional characteristics of asbestos (nor with the relative amount of each asbestos type) and the other chronological variables considered. In conclusion, it was pointed out that chrysotile can be completely removed from human lungs in <8 years and, instead, amphiboles persist much more time. The present results suggest, as well, that the finding of no asbestos in lungs cannot rule out the attribution of MM to asbestos (in particular, chrysotile) inhaled in an occupational setting. This point is of crucial importance from a legal point of view., Competing Interests: CC acted as experts for the court, the public prosecutors and the defense in asbestos-related litigations NOT related to the subjects of this paper. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Visonà, Capella, Bodini, Borrelli, Villani, Crespi, Colosio, Previderè and Belluso.)

We appreciate very much the interest of Mirabelli et al. [...].

The number of the Asbestos Bodies (AB), i.e. asbestos that developed an iron-protein coating during its permanence in biological tissues, is one of the most accessible markers of asbestos exposure in individuals. The approaches developed to perform AB count in biological tissues are based on the manual examination of tissue digests or histological sections by means of light or electron microscopies. Although these approaches are well established and relatively accessible, manual examination is time-consuming and can be reader-dependent. Besides, approximations are applied because of the limitations of 2D readings and to speed up manual counts. In addition, sample preparation using tissue digests require an amount of tissue that can only be obtained by invasive surgery or post-mortem sampling. In this paper, we propose a new approach to AB counting based on non-destructive 3D imaging, which has the potential to overcome most of the limitations of conventional approaches. This method allows automating the AB count and determining their morphometry distribution in bulk tissue samples (ideally non-invasive needle biopsies), with minimal sample preparation and avoiding approximations. Although the results are promising, additional testing on a larger number of AB-containing biological samples would be required to fully validate the method.

Increased mortality due to malignant mesothelioma has been demonstrated by several epidemiologic studies in the area around Broni (a small town in Lombardy, northern Italy), where a factory producing asbestos cement was active between 1932 and 1993. Until now, the inorganic fiber burden in lungs has not been investigated in this population. The aim of this study is to assess the lung fiber burden in 72 individuals with previous occupational and/or anthropogenic environmental exposure to asbestos during the activity of an important asbestos cement factory. Inorganic fiber lung burden was assessed in autoptic samples taken from individuals deceased from asbestos-related diseases using a scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy-dispersive spectrometer. Significant differences in the detected amount of asbestos were pointed out among the three types of exposure. In most lung samples taken from patients who died of mesothelioma, very little asbestos (or, in some cases, no fibers) was found. Such subjects showed a significantly lower median amount of asbestos as compared to asbestosis. Almost no chrysotile was detected in the examined samples. Overall, crocidolite was the most represented asbestos, followed by amosite, tremolite/actinolite asbestos, and anthophyllite asbestos. There were significant differences in the amount of crocidolite and amosite fibers according to the kind of exposure. Overall, these findings provide novel insights into the link between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma, as well as the different impacts of the various types of asbestos on human health in relation to their different biopersistences in the lung microenvironment.

Based on a large body of evidence asbestos minerals have been classified as carcinogens. Despite the Italian ban on asbestos in 1992 and the subsequent remediation activities, latent sources of contamination may still represent a hazard where asbestos were particularly used. Using wild rats as sentinel animals, this study aimed at uncovering sites with the greatest potential for non-occupational exposure to asbestos in the city of Casale Monferrato (Piedmont Region, Italy), where the largest Italian manufacturing plant of asbestos-cement had been active. During the study period (2013-2015) a total of 40 wild rats were captured from 16 sampling capture points. The lungs of wild rats have been investigated by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The SEM-EDS detected the presence of asbestos fibers (tremolite/actinolite, amosite, and chrysotile) in rats' lungs from 11 sampling points. The hypothetical rats' home-range and the observed site-specific concentration of asbestos fibers per gram of dry lung tissue were used to identify areas to be targeted by additional search of latent sources of asbestos. In conclusion, our results showed that the use of wild rats as sentinel animals may effectively integrate the strategies currently in use to reduce the exposure to asbestos., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The present investigation represents a new approach useful to evaluate the general population risk correlated with environmental exposure to air dispersed inorganic fibers. The used method is based on the evaluation of the respirable inorganic fibers both air dispersed in a big city and contained in lungs of the general population following their respiration. Moreover, these data allow to identify the sources of dispersion (anthropogenic or natural) in air of the inorganic fibers and therefore to apply strategies to improve air quality. To describe this approach, we investigated air samples from a big city in NW Italy and lung inorganic burden of people here lived. This paper reports the data of the airborne inorganic fibers detected in two sampling campaign (2014 and 2016), in 24 districts of Torino (Piemonte - NW Italy), and in some autoptic lungs of general population lived here. The airborne fibers (collected on mixed-cellulose esters membrane) were characterized by SEMEDS. The identified inorganic fiber species were assigned to 5 classes, one of these including 2 types of asbestos. These last are grouped as tremolite/actinolite asbestos. They are dispersed from natural sources (i.e. certain kinds of rocks outcropping in the city surrounding areas). In no-one of the 24 districts of Torino their concentration highlighted a situation of asbestos pollution in place. A correlation with inorganic fibers (collected on mixed-cellulose esters membrane and characterized by SEM-EDS) detected in lung tissue samples of 10 subjects lived in Torino all their life and without professional exposure to asbestos were attempted. The only types of fibers identified as asbestos are tremolite/actinolite asbestos, and they match those detected in air sampling. The number of fibers per 1 g of tissue dry weight is lower than the quantities reported as indicative of significant asbestos exposure. We observed interesting gender differences., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Mesothelioma is a tumor of the serosal membranes described both in human and veterinary medicine. While in humans the relationship between mesothelioma and exposure to asbestos and some other asbestiform minerals is well known, in animals it is still difficult to establish. In this paper a case of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma probably related to asbestos exposure in a wild boar is described. At post-mortem evaluation the peritoneum, diaphragm and serosal surface of liver and kidneys showed isolated to coalescent multiple nodular lesions. Samples from diaphragm, liver and lung were collected to perform microbiological and histological investigations. To assess the presence of asbestos and/or other asbestiform minerals, SEM-EDS investigations were performed on organs and soil samples collected from the area where the wild boar lived. Microbiological investigations were negative for Mycobacterium species. Gross and histological examination were compatible with a biphasic mesothelioma, with nodules composed of epithelioid and sarcomatoid elements with high pleomorphism. Immunohistochemistry revealed only multifocal scattered positivity for WT-1 and D2-40. Asbestos fibres were detected in all samples (organs and soil) by SEM-EDS, demonstrating a potential relationship between the neoplasia and the exposure to naturally occurring asbestos (NOA). In conclusion, the results of the present study are further confirmation that wild animals, such as the boar, are suitable sentinels to indicate the risk of environmental exposure to asbestos for human populations., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The methods conventionally used to determine the burden of asbestos fibres inhaled/incorporated in lung require chemical digestion of the biological matrix before counting/characterising the inorganic fibrous phases under scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS). Asbestos fibres can also be present in extra-pulmonary organs, and we set out to quantify the fibres in gallbladder. Although the standardised procedure requires approximately 5 × 10 -1  g of wet tissue, this amount of tissue is not always available. We applied the procedure on about 9 × 10 -4  g of gallbladder from a patient with known environmental and workplace exposure to asbestos. The patient died of malignant pleural mesothelioma and was also affected by severe bile-tract problems. The traditional procedure of digesting tissue samples in NaClO and filtering the resulting suspension was carried out. The filter was then examined under SEM/EDS using two methods 1. following the standardised procedure to assess the fibre burden in lung by investigating only 2 mm 2 of the filter (660 microscopic fields), and 2. analysing all the microscopic fields in one-quarter of the filter (about 82 mm 2 ). In parallel, histological sections (prepared in the usual way for medical diagnosis) were analysed without digestion or manipulation of the sample using variable pressure SEM/EDS. The fibre counts obtained using the two methods were of the same order of magnitude, i.e., ∼10 5 fibres/g of wet tissue. We showed that the counting of fibres in human tissue may be successfully carried out even when a limited amount of tissue is available. We also found that, when exposure to asbestos is considerable, the number of asbestos fibres accumulating in the gallbladder may be significant., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Once penetrated into the lungs of exposed people, asbestos induces an in vivo biomineralisation process that leads to the formation of a ferruginous coating embedding the fibres. The ensemble of the fibre and the coating is referred to as asbestos body and is believed to be responsible for the high toxicological outcome of asbestos. Lung tissue of two individuals subjected to prolonged occupational exposure to crocidolite asbestos was investigated using synchrotron radiation micro-probe tools. The distribution of K and of elements heavier than Fe (Zn, Cu, As, and Ba) in the asbestos bodies was observed for the first time. Elemental quantification, also reported for the first time, confirmed that the coating is highly enriched in Fe (~20% w/w), and x-ray absorption spectroscopy indicated that Fe is in the 3+ oxidation state and that it is present in the form of ferritin or hemosiderin. Comparison of the results obtained studying the asbestos bodies upon removing the biological tissue by chemical digestion and those embedded in histological sections, allowed unambiguously distinguishing the composition of the asbestos bodies, and understanding to what extent the digestion procedure altered their chemical composition. A speculative model is proposed to explain the observed distribution of Fe.

Both occupational and environmental exposure to asbestos-mineral fibres can be associated with lung diseases. The pathogenic effects are related to the dimension, biopersistence and chemical composition of the fibres. In addition to the major mineral elements, mineral fibres contain trace elements and their content may play a role in fibre toxicity. To shed light on the role of trace elements in asbestos carcinogenesis, knowledge on their concentration in asbestos-mineral fibres is mandatory. It is possible that trace elements play a synergetic factor in the pathogenesis of diseases caused by the inhalation of mineral fibres. In this paper, the concentration levels of trace elements from three chrysotile samples, four amphibole asbestos samples (UICC amosite, UICC anthophyllite, UICC crocidolite and tremolite) and fibrous erionite from Jersey, Nevada (USA) were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). For all samples, the following trace elements were measured: Li, Be, Sc, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Rb, Sr, Y, Sb, Cs, Ba, La, Pb, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Th, U. Their distribution in the various mineral species is thoroughly discussed. The obtained results indicate that the amount of trace metals such as Mn, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn is higher in anthophyllite and chrysotile samples, whereas the amount of rare earth elements (REE) is higher in erionite and tremolite samples. The results of this work can be useful to the pathologists and biochemists who use asbestos minerals and fibrous erionite in-vitro studies as positive cyto- and geno-toxic standard references., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The purpose of this work is to define a sample preparation protocol that allows inorganic fibers and particulate matter extracted from different biological samples to be characterized morphologically, crystallographically and chemically by transmission electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy (TEM-EDS). The method does not damage or create artifacts through chemical attacks of the target material. A fairly rapid specimen preparation is applied with the aim of performing as few steps as possible to transfer the withdrawn inorganic matter onto the TEM grid. The biological sample is previously digested chemically by NaClO. The salt is then removed through a series of centrifugation and rinse cycles in deionized water, thus drastically reducing the digestive power of the NaClO and concentrating the fibers for TEM analysis. The concept of equivalent hydrodynamic diameter is introduced to calculate the settling velocity during the centrifugation cycles. This technique is applicable to lung tissues and can be extended to a wide range of organic materials. The procedure does not appear to cause morphological damage to the fibers or modify their chemistry or degree of crystallinity. The extrapolated data can be used in interdisciplinary studies to understand the pathological effects caused by inorganic materials.

To assess the validity of the procedure as a test of asbestos exposure, we compared urinary asbestos fibers with occupational and environmental exposure data in a random sample of 48 subjects with high past asbestos exposure. Occupational and environmental exposure was estimated on questionnaire, pleural plaques were diagnosed with computed tomography, and inorganic fibers and particles were identified by scanning electron microscope with an energy-dispersive spectrometry. Few urinary asbestos fibers (in 15% of workers and 17% of cases with pleural plaques) and high amount of urinary silicate (particularly nonfibrous particles) were detected. Asbestos undergoes dissolution in lung tissues, but the secondary minerals are largely unknown. These materials, possibly nonfibrous silicates or metals, could be excreted with urine. Therefore, another study including a control group is warranted to discriminate the occupational origin of minerals in the urine.

Because asbestos diseases represent a complex pattern of legal, social, and political issue, the involvement of the mineralogist and pathologist for a multidisciplinary assessment of its diagnosis helps investigate the relationship between mesothelioma or lung cancer and occupational or environmental asbestos exposure.In the present study, we consider the concentrations of asbestos bodies (ABs) detected by optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the burden of different kinds of mineral fibers (among which is asbestos) identified by SEM combined with an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), in 10 lung tissue samples of subjects with occupational and nonoccupational exposure to asbestos.In all subjects with occupational exposure to asbestos, more than 1000 ABs per gram of dry weight were detected both with OM and SEM; this concentration is internationally accepted as suggesting high probability of past occupational exposure to asbestos.In 9 lung samples of the 10 investigated by SEM-EDS different inorganic fibers were found. Asbestos fibers have been identified too, and more than 100,000 fibers per gram of dry weight were detected in subjects with occupational exposure; this concentration is internationally accepted as suggesting high probability of past occupational exposure to asbestos.Instead, when the ABs burden is low or moderate (such as in subjects with absent or probable asbestos exposure), the correlation between ABs concentration determined by OM and those determined by SEM is lost. Therefore, when the ABs value in OM is borderline, the SEM investigation became essential. Furthermore, the mineralogical analysis by SEM-EDS (identification and quantification of inorganic fibers in general and asbestos in particular) of the fibers detected in the lung tissues is very useful, if not necessary, to complete the pathological diagnosis of asbestos-related malignancies in medicolegal field.

Due to their optical, photo-luminescence (PL), and afterglow properties, barium titanosilicates are compounds of great interest for functional materials and light-emitting devices. Among them, BaTiSi2O7 (BTS2) is certainly one of the most intriguing; it displays peculiar properties (e.g. PL orange emission) whose exhaustive explanation has been hampered to date by the lack of a structure model. In this work, BTS2 and the related compound BaTiSi4O11 (BTS4) were synthesized through conventional solid-state reaction methods. BTS2 invariably shows complex twinning patterns. Thus, its structure solution and Rietveld structure refinement were attempted using synchrotron powder diffraction. BTS2 was found to be an intergrowth of monoclinic and triclinic crystals. The monoclinic phase has the space group P21/n and unit cell a = 7.9836 (3), b = 10.0084 (4), c = 7.4795 (3) Å, and β = 100.321 (3)°, whereas the triclinic phase has the space group P\bar 1 and unit cell a = 7.99385 (4), b = 10.01017 (5), c = 7.47514 (3) Å, α = 90.084 (8), β = 100.368 (8) and γ = 89.937 (9)°. These lattices can be seen as a distortion of that of tetragonal synthetic β-BaVSi2O7 with Ti in place of V. The structure models obtained from this study confirm the presence of fivefold coordinated Ti atoms in a distorted pyramidal configuration. The proposed solution supports existing theories for the explanation of the PL orange colour in BTS2.

Asbestos has been banned in many countries, including Italy. However, sources of exposure may still exist, due to asbestos in-situ or past disposal of asbestos-containing waste. In an urban area with past high environmental exposure, like Casale Monferrato, the lung fiber burden in sentinel animals may be useful to identify such sources. A pilot study was conducted to assess the feasibility of its determination in wild rats, a suitable sentinel species never used before for environmental lung asbestos fiber burden studies. Within the framework of pest control campaigns, 11 adult animals from 3 sites in the urban area of Casale Monferrato and 3 control rats from a different, unexposed town were captured. Further, 3 positive and 3 negative control lung samples were obtained from laboratories involved in breeding programs and conducting experimental studies on rats. Tissue fiber concentration was measured by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectrometry. Asbestos (chrysotile and crocidolite) was identified in the lungs from rats from Casale Monferrato, but not in control rats and in negative control lung samples. Asbestos grunerite at high concentration was found in positive control lung samples. Measurement of the lung fiber burden in wild rats has proved feasible: it was possible not only to detect, but also to characterize asbestos fibers both qualitatively and quantitatively. The pilot study provides the rationale for using wild rats as sentinels of the soil contamination level in Casale Monferrato, to identify areas with the possible presence of previously unrecognized asbestos sources., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Italian law requires an extensive health surveillance of workers after cessation of their employment status in the case of occupational exposure to carcinogens, including asbestos. Nonetheless, Italian law does not specify the timeframe of these clinical checks, nor who has financial and organizational responsibility for this surveillance. A literature search confirmed a lack of consensus around the objectives and methods to follow up workers with past occupational exposure to asbestos., Objectives: To develop an updated evidence-based methodology for an appropriate health surveillance programme., Methods: We present an overview of the field experience developed by the Veneto Region from 2000 to 2011, and new studies that could contribute to establishing a national policy for the medical surveillance of workers with past asbestos exposure., Results: There were three specific topics: (1) definition of a reliable method to identify asbestos workers (through multiple sources and procedures that meet current confidentiality regulations); (2) detection of asbestos fibres in biological media (to support the etiological diagnosis of asbestos-related diseases); (3) creation of a national protocol of health surveillance (through the assessment of policies developed by other Regions in this field, and recruiting from these regions a cohort of past-exposed workers: the epidemiological study should offer relevant suggestions for specific surveillance approaches, based on either estimated cumulative asbestos exposure or detection of x-ray patterns of pleural plaques and/or asbestosis)., Conclusions: These studies will support the Regions in setting up health care policies directed at workers with past asbestos exposure.

Mineral fibers are potential carcinogens to humans. In order to help clarify the etiology of the pathological effects of asbestos, cellular reactions to natural and synthetic asbestos fibers were compared using a lung alveolar cancer cell line (A549 epithelial cells), considered the first target of inhaled micro-environmental contaminants. Natural asbestos tremolite (NAT) fibers were collected from rocks in NW Italy. Synthetic asbestos tremolite (SAT) was iron-free and therefore considered as standard tremolite. Both fibers, subjected to mineralogical characterization by X-ray powder diffractometry, electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry, fell within the definition of respirable and potentially carcinogenic fibers. Several signs of functional and structural cell damage were found after treatment with both fibers, documented by viability, motility, and morphological perturbations. Phalloidin labeling showed irregular distribution of cytoskeletal F-actin, whereas immunohistochemical investigations showed abnormal expression of VEGF, Cdc42, β-catenin, assessed as risks indicators for cancer development. Both fibers caused significant loss of viability, even compared to UICC crocidolite, but, while SAT fibers exerted a more direct cytotoxic effect, survival of damaged cells expressing high VEGF levels was detected after NAT contact. This in vitro pilot study outlines potential health risks of NAT fibers in vivo related to their iron content, which could trigger signaling networks connected with cell proliferation and neoplastic transformation., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Waste combustion processes are responsible of particles and gaseous emissions. Referring to the particle emission, in the last years specific attention was paid to ultrafine particles (UFPs, diameter less than 0.1 μm), mainly emitted by combustion processes. In fact, recent findings of toxicological and epidemiological studies indicate that fine and ultrafine particles could represent a risk for health and environment. Therefore, it is necessary to quantify particle emissions from incinerators also to perform an exposure assessment for the human populations living in their surrounding areas. To these purposes, in the present work an experimental campaign aimed to monitor UFPs was carried out at the incineration plant in San Vittore del Lazio (Italy). Particle size distributions and total concentrations were measured both at the stack and before the fabric filter inlet in order to evaluate the removal efficiency of the filter in terms of UFPs. A chemical characterization of UFPs in terms of heavy metal concentration was performed through a nuclear method, i.e., Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA), as well as a mineralogical investigation was carried out through a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) equipped with an Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS) in order to evaluate shape, crystalline state and mineral compound of sampled particles. Maximum values of 2.7 × 10(7) part. cm(-3) and 2.0 × 10(3) part. cm(-3) were found, respectively, for number concentration before and after the fabric filter showing a very high efficiency in particle removing by the fabric filter. With regard to heavy metal concentrations, the elements with higher boiling temperature present higher concentrations at lower diameters showing a not complete evaporation in the combustion section and the consequent condensation of semi-volatile compounds on solid nuclei. In terms of mineralogical and morphological analysis, the most abundant compounds found in samples collected before the fabric filter are Na-K-Pb oxides followed by phyllosilicates, otherwise, different oxides of comparable abundance were detected in the samples collected at the stack., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

An 18-year-old female lion (Panthera leo) was referred to the Department of Animal Pathology of the University of Turin (Italy). At necropsy, multiple nodular, 4-20-mm, confluent white firm nodules were scattered throughout the pleural surfaces of the thoracic wall and of the lungs. Histological lesions were represented by proliferations of papillary structures lined by cuboidal basophilic mesothelial cells with large, oval nuclei and abundant granular eosinophilic cytoplasm. Immunohistochemistry revealed immunoreactivity for pancytokeratin and vimentin. None of the cells expressed calretinin antigen. Asbestos fibers and asbestos bodies were not detected respectively by light microscopy and by Scanning Electron Microscope-Energy Dispersive Spectrometer investigations. On the contrary, chrysotile asbestos were identified in samples from shelter material. Histological and immunohistochemical findings were consistent with the diagnosis of an epithelial malignant mesothelioma. To our best knowledge, this is the first report of a pleural mesothelioma in a lion., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The purpose of the study was to investigate the biological risk of asbestiform antigorite, which is a fibrous variety of antigorite, one of the natural mineral fibres of the serpentine group to which asbestos chrysotile belongs. Asbestiform antigorite is very abundant and commonly found associated with asbestos chrysotile in serpentinites, a kind of rock outcropping present in many geographical locations worldwide. In this study we evaluated the morphological, immunohistochemical and functional effects of antigorite fibres in alveolar epithelial cancer cells (A549), a standardized human cell line currently used as a model to study cytotoxicity induced by pharmacological agents. The antigorite fibres were identified and characterized morphologically and chemically by X-ray powder diffractometry, transmission and scanning electron microscopy, both with annexed energy dispersive spectrometry. The effects of 50 microg/ml of antigorite in A549 lung cells treated at 24 and 48 h resulted in increased synthesis of VEGF, Cdc42 and beta-catenin that represent potential risks for cancer development. Phalloidin labelling showed an irregular distribution of filamentous actin resulting from antigorite contact. Our studies indicate potential cellular toxicity of antigorite in vivo, providing the opportunity to elucidate the effect of asbestos on cancer induction and possible modes of therapy., (Copyright 2009 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Professional exposure to asbestos fibres is widely recognized as very dangerous to human health and for this reason many countries have banned their commercial uses. People, nevertheless, continue to be exposed to low dose of asbestos from natural and anthropogenic sources still in loco, for which the potential hazard is unknown. The aim of this research is to assess environmental exposure in an area with outcropping serpentinite rocks, which bear asbestos mineralizations, using sentinel animals which are a non-experimental animal model. We studied the burden of inorganic fibres in cattle lungs which come from two areas in Italy's Western Alps bearing serpentinitic outcrops: Susa Valley with a heavy anthropization and Lanzo Valleys, with a minor human impact. The identification and quantification of inorganic fibres were performed by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS). In comparison to humans, studies of animals have some advantages, such as no occupational exposure or history of smoking and, in the case of cattle, a sedentary life restricted to one region. Results spotlight that over than 35% of inorganic fibres found both in Susa and Lanzo valleys, belong to asbestos mineralogical species (asbestos tremolite/actinolite, chrysotile s.s., asbestos grunerite, crocidolite). We also observed a higher concentration of artificial fibrous products in Susa samples showing a correlation with the level of anthropization. These results confirm that sentinel animals are an excellent model to assess breathable environmental background because it is possible to eliminate some variables, such as unknown occupational exposure.

Many asbestos-like mineral fibers have been detected in the air of mountainous and volcanic areas of Italy and other parts of the world. These fibers have been suspected to be the cause of increased incidences of lung cancer and other lung diseases in these areas. However, the mechanisms of the cellular response and defense following exposure to these microscopic fibers have not been characterized. We continue to study these mechanisms to be able to propose preventive strategies in large populations. The objective of the present study was to determine comparatively biological responses of mesothelial Met-5A and monocyte-macrophage J774 cells following exposure to two types of fluoro-edenite fibers having low and high iron content (labeled 19 and 27, respectively) obtained from Biancavilla (Sicily, Italy). The reference fiber was a non-iron fibrous tremolite from Val di Susa (Piemonte, Italy). The cells were treated with 5, 50, and 100 mug of fibrous matter per 1 ml for 72 hr. We identified several key mechanisms by which cells responded and counteracted the injury induced by these fibers. The fibers caused induction of the heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70), stimulated formation of reactive oxygen species (detected by using DCFH-DA as a fluorescent probe) and NO* (measured as nitrite). Exposure of cells to the fibers induced lactate dehydrogenase activity and decreased viability. The fluoro-endenite type 27 was the most potent fiber tested, which indicated that iron and possibly manganese contribute significantly to this fiber toxicity. The J774 cells were more sensitive to fluoro-edenite than Met-5A cells suggesting that the primary site of the fiber-induced inflammatory response could be the macrophage rather than the pulmonary epithelium. Fluoro-edenite produces more biological alterations with respect to non-iron tremolite. Hsp70 and free radicals could be important factors in the context of mineral fiber-induced acute lung injury leading possibly to mutagenic effects. We anticipate that pharmacological blockade of the fiber-dependent cellular responses could in long term offer preventive approach to combat lung diseases induced by these fibers.

We studied the effects of fibrous antigorite on mesothelial MeT-5A and monocyte-macrophage J774 cell lines to further understand cellular mechanisms induced by asbestos fibers leading to lung damage and cancer. Antigorite is a mineral with asbestiform properties, which tends to associate with chrysotile or tremolite, and frequently occurs as the predominant mineral in the veins of several serpentinite rocks found abundantly in the Western Alps. Particles containing antigorite are more abundant in the breathing air of this region than those typically found in urban ambient air. Exposure of MeT-5A and J774 cells to fibrous antigorite at concentrations of 5-100 microg/ml for 72 hr induced dose-dependent cytotoxicity. Antigorite also stimulated the ROS production, induced the generation of nitrite and PGE2. MeT-5A cells were more sensitive to antigorite than J774 cells. The results of this study revealed that the fibrous antigorite stimulates cyclooxygenase and formation of hydroxyl and nitric oxide radicals. These changes represent early cellular responses to antigorite fibers, which lead to a host of pathological and neoplastic conditions because free radicals and PGE2 play important roles as mediators of tumor pathogenesis. Understanding the mechanisms of the cellular responses to antigorite and other asbestos particles should be helpful in designing rational prevention and treatment approaches.

The in vitro biological response to fluoro-edenite (FE) fibres, an asbestos-like amphibole, was evaluated in lung alveolar epithelial A549, mesothelial MeT-5A and monocyte-macrophage J774 cell lines. The mineral has been found in the vicinity of the town of Biancavilla (Catania, Sicily), where an abnormal incidence of mesothelioma has been documented. Cell motility, distribution of polymerized actin, and synthesis of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and of beta-catenin, critical parameters for tumour development, progression and survival, were investigated in A549 and MeT-5A cells exposed to 50 microg/ml FE fibres for 24 hr and 48 hr. The levels of cyclooxygenase (COX-2) and prostaglandin (PGE2), two molecules involved in cancer pathogenesis by affecting mitogenesis, cell adhesion, immune surveillance and apoptosis, were measured in J774 cells treated with FE fibres under the same experimental conditions. Finally, FE fibres were studied by SEM and EDS analysis to investigate their chemical composition. Exposure of A549 and MeT-5A cells to FE fibres affected differentially phalloidin-stained cytoplasmic F-actin networks, cell motility and VEGF and beta-catenin expression according to the different sensitivity of the two cell lines. In J774 cells it induced a significant increase in COX-2 expression, as assessed by Western blot analysis, and in the concentration of PGE2, measured in culture media by ELISA. SEM-EDS investigations demonstrated two types of FE fibres, edenite and fluoro-edenite, differing in chemical composition and both recognizable as calcic amphiboles. Fibre width ranged from less than 1 microm (prevalently 0.5 microm) to 2-3 microm (edenite) up to several microm (fluoro-edenite); length ranged from about 6 to 80 microm (edenite) up to some hundred microm (fluoro-edenite). Results provide convincing evidence that FE fibres are capable of inducing in vitro functional modifications in a number of parameters with crucial roles in cancer development and progression. Inhaled FE fibres have the potential to induce mesothelioma, even though their ability to penetrate lung alveoli depends on their aerodynamic diameter.

It is confirmed that occupational and paraoccupational exposure to mineral fibres, particularly asbestos fibres, plays a fundamental role in the induction of lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma. The possible association with other human cancers (e.g. larynx cancer, gastro-intestinal cancer, uro-genital cancer and emolinfopoietic cancer) is not yet demonstrated, even if some mineral fibres are identified in tissues different from the lung ones, such as kidney, bladder, and some biological fluids (e.g. urine of subjects with occupational exposure to asbestos). The possibility of damage caused to tissues in consequence of exposure to low concentration of mineral fibres (e.g. environmental exposure) has still to be defined. In this work we report the results of a mineralogical study by means of scanning electron microscopy with microprobe of a case of bladder cancer in a subject without professional exposure to mineral fibres where asbestos bodies are identified by optical microscopy.

A case of pneumoconiosis with unknown occupational history was examined both pathologically and mineralogically by means of a variety of techniques, including analytical scanning and transmission electron microscopy with electron diffraction and energy dispersive x-ray analysis, and electron resonance spectroscopy. The pathologic features consisted of a diffuse interstitial fibrosis with deposits of amorphous and crystalline particles and granulomatous reaction. The identification of minerals, mainly talc, halloysite, coal and chlorite, allowed a definite diagnosis of mixed silicate pneumoconiosis to be made. This is an example of complete pathologic, mineralogic and physico-chemical analysis of a case of pneumoconiosis.