Describes the chemical, physical, and mineralogical aspects of fibrous inorganic materials.

PART I: What is an Inorganic Fiber? 1. Fibers and History 2. Definitions of Fiber 3. Nomenclature 4. The Properties of Inorganic Fibers 5. Classification of Inorganic Fibrous Materials PART II: Fibrous Minerals and Synthetic Fibers 6. The Crystal Chemistry of Mineral Materials 7. Silicate and Aluminosilicate Minerals that Form Fibers 8. Asbestos 9. Other Chain Aluminosilicates that Form Fibers 10. Aluminosilicates with Sheet Structures that Form Fibers 11. Isolated Tetrahedra Silicates 12. Silica Minerals that are Fibrous 13. Fibers of Nonsilicate Minerals 14. MMVF or Glass Fibers 15. Whiskers 16. Carbon and Graphite Fibers PART III: Health Effects of Inorganic Fibers 17. Historical Highlights and Perspectives 18. The Respiratory System 19. The Pleura 20. The Lymphatic System 21. Fiber Inhalation and Health Effects 22. Epidemiology of Exposure to Fibrous Materials

H. Catherine W. SkinnerLecturer in Surgery and Associate Professor of Biochemistry, Yale University Medical School, Malcolm RossMineralogist, Bureau of Experimental Geochemistry and Mineralogy, US Geological Survey, Clifford FrondelProfessor of Mineralogy, Harvard University

"A short (about 200 pp) text that introduces fibrous materials and their health effects. Special emphasis on, and strength in, describing the chemical/physical structure of asbestos and other inorganic fibers, and in addressing difficult definitional issues." --American Public Health Association Section Newsletter |k No