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The dissolution of asbestos fibres in water

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2018

Janet R. Gronow
Janet R. Gronow*
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge, Department of Engineering, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ
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Abstract

The interaction of chrysotile and crocidolite with water has been investigated in an attempt to identify the factors affecting the rate and the degree of dissolution of asbestos fibres within groundwater systems at landfill sites. Dissolution experiments were used to investigate rate laws and to obtain apparent activation energies for the dissolution of the two minerals. The activation energies related to transport-controlled processes, but as the overall dissolution occurred so slowly it was unlikely to be controlled by processes with such low activation energies. Congruent dissolution of both minerals tended to increase with temperature and time, suggesting that in the long-term environmental situation, congruent dissolution of these two asbestos minerals would occur. However these experiments show that, as the reaction was so slow, there is little likelihood of reduction of the asbestos pollution hazard by the complete dissolution of fibres on prolonged contact with natural waters.

Type
Research Article
Information
Clay Minerals , Volume 22 , Issue 1 , March 1987 , pp. 21 - 35
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1987

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