Anthophyllite
Tossavainen et al. (1994), from Finland, where anthophyllite was mined and used, reports the permanent persistence of longer (>5 to 17 µm), thicker anthophyllite fibers in the lung and the predominance of these fibers in some lung cancer and mesothelioma cases. Hillerdal (2004) writes that anthophyllite's potential to cause mesothelioma seems to be low. On the other hand, there is a mesothelioma case report that the authors link to neighborhood environmental (i.e., low) exposure to anthophyllite asbestos, while relating this case to reports of asbestosassociated disorders among workers exposed to anthophyllite (Rom et al., 2001). A cohort of 736 men and 167 women working in two Finnish mines was followed from 1953 until 1991. There were 4 cases of mesothelioma among this group versus 0.1 expected, all in men with "heavy" exposure to this form of asbestos for 13 to 31 years (Meurman et al., 1994).
B. In Workers Exposed to Both Chrysotile and Amphibole, There Are Fewer mesothelioma cases Than in Studies of Amphiboles (Table 2)