Chemical treatment of chrysotile asbestos in laboratory solutions

This study investigates the problems of degrading or otherwise altering through treatment with simple chemical reagents the fibres of chrysotile, the most common asbestos variety. The experiments conducted were aimed, on the one hand, at destroying the fibrous morphology by chemical breakdown and, on the other, at nucleating and growing crystals (specifically anhydrite, CaSO₄) on fibres thus changing their dimensions. Degeneration runs contained mixtures of asbestos with different solution strengths of HCl, Na₂CO₃, and CO₂-saturated water. Of these, only the HCl runs showed appreciable fibre breakdown. The second sequence proved more successful in that anhydrite crystals were readily grown upon asbestos fibres. The applicability of experimental results to environmental control is considered.