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Asbestos Actinolite

Also known as calcium magnesium iron silicate hydroxide, actinolite is an asbestos mineral part of the amphibole group with the basic chemical formula Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2. As a mineral, asbestos actinolite is common in some rocks that are in metaphysical form.

Similar to almost every type of asbestos, exposure to actinolite can cause a series of diseases, inculding asbestos cancer.

Actinolite Mineral

Asbestos actinolite mineral is part of a three member solid-solutions group as an intermediate. This group consists of tremolite, ferro-actinolite and asbestos actinolite, as the intermediate, where amounts of magnesium and iron are roughly equal.

A region where asbestos actinolite can be found is Ontario, Canada. Mining in this area has been intense in the 90's, but has decreased the past few years due to the fact that actinolites have been banned from general use.

Actinolite Rock

Actinolite crystals are usually formed on some metamorphic rocks (or schists), for example, igneous rocks. As mentioned above, this is common in the region of Ontario, Canada. These rocks have been also known to contain quartz crystals. Actinolite rocks are brittle and very easy to extract from larger rock formations.

The actinolite rock is similar to hornblende; the only thing that differs is the extinction angle, which is lower in the case of hornblende.

Actinolite Uses

Asbestos actinolite was used as an insulation material, but has been banned after a causing a lot of people severe health problems. Other uses include:

  • a variety of actinolite, called nephrite is used to manufacture some jewelry stones, such as the cats eye jewel. (this kind of jewels are supported by the Tweed and Area arts Council, but only after being processed in order not to be harmful towards people)
  • thin section actinolite was also used to manufacture paper asbestos (pipe and plumbing insulator)
  • some forms of actinolite are also used to make gaskets for certain application

Actinolite is only common in some areas of the world, and thus has not been the cause of more than 10 percent of mesothelioma cases. Remember, jewels that have been manufactured out of actinolite asbestos mineral are usually harmless, but not all. Make sure that the surface of the jewel is very soft and shine; because that means that the rock will not be able to release any harmful fibers.

Contact asbestos cancer organization if you need information on actinolite and how it can be encountered. This will be free for anyone that requires assistance.