Enhancing Detection of Asbestiform Minerals in Asbestos Contaminated Talc using FTIR and Multivariate Data Analysis

Details

• Personal Author:
  Yang, Sena ; Alquwayi, Salman ; Barone, Teresa ; Mischler, Steven E. ; Lee, Taekhee
• Description:
  Talc has been widely used for decades in cosmetic and personal care products because of its unique properties. However, certain talc deposits have historically been found to contain asbestiform minerals, making the detection of these contaminants critical for mitigating asbestos exposure risks in consumer products. To investigate this, laboratory generated mixtures of talc/anthophyllite asbestos and talc/tremolite asbestos were prepared at various concentrations. These mixtures underwent thorough processing with sodium polytungstate (SPT), a heavy liquid, followed by centrifugation, settling, and extraction of separated mineral components. Each extracted sample was analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and mineral type was predicted through multivariate data analysis (Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA)). The PLS-DA model, trained on specific wavenumber regions displaying distinct mineral features, successfully identified anthophyllite and tremolite asbestos in most separated samples. However, in cases where misclassification occurred-where asbestiform minerals were labeled as talc or unassigned-a secondary separation procedure was required. The integration of heavy liquid separation, FTIR spectroscopy, and PLS-DA offers a promising approach for enhancing the detection of asbestiform minerals in asbestos-contaminated talc.
• Subjects:
  Asbestos Minerals Occupational Health Safety Talc
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Asbestos Contamination; Fourier Transform Infrared; FTIR; Heavy Liquid Separation; Partial Least Squares-discriminant Analysis; PLS-DA; Talc Talc; Asbestos; Infrared Spectroscopy; Cosmetics; Analytical Methods; Statistical Analysis;
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISSN:
  1545-9624
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Pennsylvania ; Philadelphia Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PMRD - Pittsburgh Mining Research Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  8 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071143
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Hyg 2026 Jan; :[Epub ahead of print]
• Email:
  fwc8@cdc.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Talc (Mg3H2(SiO3)4) (CAS RN 14807-96-6) ; Asbestos (CAS RN 1332-21-4)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2026
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:cfbcae83f81f189eb11dc1b4fc1b63041b24b75fcbe3ef1a68879d02e3df8c60845e037d7aabcae8f5add90ddb9627795507f8443f1e4ed0918b769633479d67
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/257910/cdc_257910_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.45 MB ]