Evaluation of Mineral Carbonation of Asbestos-Tex and Analysis of Airborne Asbestos Concentrations

Asbestos is a human carcinogen that causes diseases, such as lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma. In Korea, approximately 1.23 × 109 kg of asbestos raw materials was imported for about 30 years. More than 80% of this were used as building material, such as interior materials and ceiling materials. Among the manufactured asbestos-containing materials, the closest product to the human body is asbestos-tex, used as ceiling material. In this study, asbestos contained in asbestos-tex was transformed into a shape that is physically safe for the human body through mineral carbonation and the results were verified through the analysis of airborne asbestos concentrations. We found that asbestos-tex powder in a buffer solution at 100 °C and at partial CO₂ pressures of greater than 10 MPa transformed its constituent chrysotile asbestos moiety ((Mg₃Si₂O₅(OH)₄) into magnesite (MgCO₃). Consequently, the needle-shaped asbestos fibers (diameters ≤ 3 µm) were converted to an angular rod-shaped mineral (diameters > 5 µm) that is safe for humans.