Asbestos pollution in an inactive mine: Determination of asbestos fibers in the deposit tailings and water

An inactive asbestos mine in Northern Greece, known as MABE, had been operational for 18 years, showing an annual chrysotile production of similar to 100,000 tons. It is estimated that a total of 68 million tons of the mineral serpentine were excavated from the mine, of which 881,000tons of chrysotile asbestos were produced. The mine deposits are located very near to the river Aliakmonas. The water of the river is extensively used as drinking water, as well as for irrigation. This study estimated the amount of asbestos currently present in the deposits, to at least 1.33 million tons. This is a 110-fold increase since the start of mine operation in 1982. Water samples obtained throughout the river had high chrysotile concentrations, in most cases far exceeding EPA's standard value (7 x 10(6) f/l). Therefore, the mine and the deposits urgently require remediation works, such as removal of large contaminated objects from the mine buildings and revegetation of the deposit areas, in order to reduce the asbestos levels in the river water. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.