Asbestos or Amianthus in the French Alps

Asbestos or Amianthus is often produced naturally during the process of primitive rock decomposition.

Large deposits are found in Tarentaise, Savoy. The asbestos presents itself as filaments that hardly resemble stone. The amianthus is more like a white silk and sits in the fissures of mountains and seems to abound where granite is plentiful.(1) Granite is moderately hard and course and lends itself well to industrial materials such as countertops, flooring tiles, monument stones. Once cut to precision and polished to a fine finish granite becomes a beautiful polished stone.

Working with granite however has implications. One such implication is dust. Particles of granite dust may contain particles of amianthus or asbestos. Asbestos particles are inhaled and are proven to cause a cancer of the mesothelial lining of the organs. The asbestos cancer is called mesothelioma.

Tarentaise, Savoie (Savoy) is a region of Europe found at the western foot of the French Alps.

Note - Further research on this could include statistical facts on asbestos related health problems in the French Alps population...


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Resource.

1. Universal Geography - A description of all parts of the world. p.99

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