Utilisation of cement-asbestos wastes by thermal treatment and the potential possibility use of obtained product for the clinker bricks manufacture

Background All forms of asbestos are now banned in 52 countries. Safer products have replaced many materials that once were made with it. Nonetheless, many countries still use, import, and export asbestos and asbestos-containing products, and in those that have banned other forms of asbestos, the so-called “controlled use” of chrysotile asbestos is often exempted from the ban. In fact, chrysotile has accounted for > 95% of all the asbestos used globally. Objective We examined and evaluated the literature used to support the exemption of chrysotile asbestos from the ban and how its exemption reflects the political and economic influence of the asbestos mining and manufacturing industry. Discussion All forms of asbestos, including chrysotile, are proven human carcinogens. All forms cause malignant mesothelioma and lung and laryngeal cancers, and may cause ovarian, gastrointestinal, and other cancers. No exposure to asbestos is without risk. Illnesses and deaths from asbestos exposure are entirely preventable. Conclusions All countries of the world have an obligation to their citizens to join in the international endeavor to ban the mining, manufacture, and use of all forms of asbestos. An international ban is urgently needed. There is no medical or scientific basis to exempt chrysotile from the worldwide ban of asbestos.

The remediation of industrial buildings covered with asbestos-cement roofs is one of the most important issues in asbestos risk management. The relevant Italian Directives call for the above waste to be treated prior to disposal on landfill. Processes able to eliminate the hazard of these wastes are very attractive because the treated products can be recycled as mineral components in building materials. In this work, asbestos-cement waste is milled by means of a high energy ring mill for up to 4h. The very fine powders obtained at all milling times are characterized to check the mineralogical and morphological transformation of the asbestos phases. Specifically, after 120 min of milling, the disappearance of the chrysotile OH stretching modes at 3690 cm(-1), of the main crystalline chrysotile peaks and of the fibrous phase are detected by means of infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy analyses, respectively. The hydraulic behavior of the milled powders in presence of lime is also tested at different times. The results of thermal analyses show that the endothermic effects associated to the neo-formed binding phases significantly increase with curing time. Furthermore, the technological efficacy of the recycling process is evaluated by preparing and testing hydraulic lime and milled powder-based mortars. The complete test set gives good results in terms of the hydration kinetics and mechanical properties of the building materials studied. In fact, values of reacted lime around 40% and values of compressive strength in the range of 2.17 and 2.29 MPa, are measured. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.