Chrysotile asbestos
Definition: Chrysotile asbestos, the fibrous variety of the mineral serpentine, is by far the most important type of asbestos. It forms in metamorphic rock, that is, rock that has been altered by intense heat and pressure.
Chrysotile is a less dusty material and is more easily eliminated from the human body than amphiboles. It is also the only type of asbestos used today. The industry now only markets dense and non-friable materials in which the chrysotile fibre is encapsulated in cement or resin.
90% of the world production of chrysotile is used in the manufacture of chrysotile-cement, in the form of pipes, sheets and shingles. These products are used in some sixty industrialized and developing countries.
According to a group of experts convened by the World Health Organization (WHO), chrysotile-cement products do not present risks of any significance to public health (e.g.
asbestosis and mesothelioma) or the environment. Moreover, workers in this industry, whether employed in the manufacture, installation or removal of materials, are not exposed to any detectable risk when effective prevention and control measures are applied.
Source: Asbestos Institute
Also Known As: White Asbestos
Common Misspellings: chrisotile crysotile crisotile
