The Environmental Protection Agency explains that asbestos found in its natural state poses little threat if it is left undisturbed. Unfortunately, asbestos mining in certain areas puts everyone living in those regions at a risk for health issues.

An example of this is Libby, Montana, a town that holds some of the highest incidences of asbestos-related diseases in the United States. This is due to the location’s vermiculite mine, which is one of the largest ones in the world. These mines were contaminated with dangerously high levels of naturally occurring asbestos. Libby remains the focus of an EPA effort to combat illnesses and disease related to asbestos exposure and restore environmental safety to the town. While naturally occurring asbestos does not usually pose a threat to most, in regions where asbestos is mined or is a byproduct of mining, exposure can be deadly.

Asbestos Deposits in the United States

While Libby is the most well-known city in the United States for asbestos-related diseases, the U.S. Geological Survey has studied and shown the presence of hundreds of similar mines all around the country. Mines along the eastern side of the Appalachian chain of mountains stretching from upstate New York down to the Carolinas have held asbestos materials and may have contributed to mesothelioma in those areas. Other natural deposits of asbestos are located in the western states such as Washington, Oregon and California. In fact, California holds some of the most extensive asbestos deposits, located along fault lines, coastal regions and the foothills of the Sierras and Klamath Mountains. Additionally, asbestos can be found in mines throughout the Rocky Mountains, as well as in Michigan.

Rock Formations

The areas where asbestos is most commonly found can be categorized according to the types of rocks located in these regions. There are three major types of rock in which asbestos may be found: serpentinites, altered ultramafic rocks and some mafic rocks. These are all noted for their incidence in mines where high pressure, temperatures and groundwater are common. Other types of rocks known to hold potentially dangerous levels of asbestos include metamorphosed iron formations, metamorphosed dolostones, carbonatites and alkalic intrusions. All these materials and the conditions that create them often contribute to the high levels of fracturing and faulting that lead to the production of natural deposits of asbestos.

International Asbestos Production

The countries that produce the most asbestos include Russia, China and Brazil, as well as other developing nations and emerging economies. While many of these countries produce asbestos solely for their own uses, several other nations export asbestos abroad. Some developed nations, like Canada, continue to mine asbestos despite the knowledge of health risk. Canada, in particular, has been criticized heavily for its continued sale and production of the dangerous material around the world. While Canada contains strict health regulations against the use of asbestos in new construction and maintains active programs to remove the material from earlier construction, including schools and federal buildings. Canada continues to ship to nations like India and Mexico who do not yet have any safety precautions regulations in place, allowing for the more widespread use of asbestos.

References:

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Geological Survey

Morris, Jim. (July 21, 2010) “Exporting an Epidemic.” Retrieved April 19, 2011 from The Center for Public Integrity.