Asbestos Content of Talcs from Italian Mines and Fibre Concentration in Various Commercial Talcum Powders Used in Italy

Talc naturally occurswith a variety of mineral habits: blocky, platy, polycristalline and fibrous. Due to the geological origin, metamorphic alterations of quartzite and dolomitic rocks, talc deposits have been found to contain talc mineral often in association with other minerals like serpentine and amphiboles Health interest in the occurrence of the asbestiform varieties of these minerals is determined by the cancerogenic potential associated to the inhalation of asbestos fibres.