Amphibole asbestos · Blue
Crocidolite - Blue asbestos (riebeckite)
Crocidolite, or blue asbestos, is a sodium- and iron-rich mineral of the amphibole group. The fibres are extremely fine and straight. It is the most hazardous type of asbestos in health terms. Mining took place mainly in South Africa and Western Australia.
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Mineral group
Amphibole
Colour
Blue
Formula
Na₂(Fe,Mg)₅Si₈O₂₂(OH)₂
Risk level
Very high
Characteristics
- ✓Extremely fine, straight fibres
- ✓The highest tensile strength of all asbestos types
- ✓The highest acid resistance
- ✓Sodium- and iron-rich amphibole
Historical uses
- •Pressure vessels and steam pipes
- •High-temperature hot water insulation
- •The blue variant of asbestos cement
- •Gas mask filters (during the Second World War)
- •Seals resistant to acidic substances
Where can Crocidolite be found?
- •Old steam plants and heating stations
- •Industrial pressure vessels
- •Bluish asbestos cement products
Crocidolite in Finland
Crocidolite was used only to a limited extent in Finland because of its cost and its hazardous nature. It occurs above all in the pipe and pressure vessel insulation of industrial sites from the 1960s and 1970s.
Ban
Banned in Finland in 1994. Sprayed asbestos had already been banned in 1977. In practice, the use of crocidolite had ceased even earlier.
Health risk
Very high – the most hazardous type of asbestos. The fine fibres penetrate deep into lung tissue and cause mesothelioma even at very low levels of exposure. Mortality from asbestos-related diseases among people exposed to crocidolite is several times higher than for other types of asbestos.
Do you suspect Crocidolite in your material?
Order an asbestos analysis – we identify all six types of asbestos with a JEOL SEM-EDS electron microscope.