The aid of X-Ray powder diffraction to the characterisation and treatment of asbestos containing materials

Fibrous asbestos minerals have been identified as priority substances for risk reduction and pollution prevention. Because of the well known hazardous effects associated with past occupational exposures to asbestos and because of its widespread use in commerce, exposures to asbestos present a general health hazard. Therefore, the identification and quantification of asbestos in bulk materials which are still sited in a number of plants and public buildings is fundamental for a proper plan of social prevention and general intervention. X-ray powder diffraction is considered an effective tool of investigation of bulk materials with a high statistical significance. The combined Rietveld-RIR method, has been successfully applied for the quantitative determination in the past of asbestos in bulk materials such as insulating cements, mixed asbestos- slag wools, contaminated soils, and others. The University of Jussieu in Paris has been partly evacuated because the framework of the building is composed of an asbestos rich material. This paper reports the description of the characterisation of that material and a possible plan of intervention for the treatment of the hazardous material in situ.