The research group is involved in the study of mineral fibers.
Mineral fibres are ubiquitous on Earth and because many of them possess outstanding technological properties, they have been used since ancient times for a huge number of applications. It is now widely accepted that they represent one of the most interesting and curious example of inorganic to organic sphere interaction with direct consequences for the human health.
The most important mineral fibres are serpentine asbestos (chrysotile), five amphibole asbestos species (amosite = asbestos grunerite), crocidolite = asbestos riebeckite, asbestos actinolite, asbestos anthophyllite and asbestos tremolite, and fibrous erionite. Because of their peculiar fibrous-asbestiform crystal habit and chemical-physical surface reactivity, these mineral fibres may induce, if inhaled, fatal lung diseases.
All amphibole asbestos minerals are banned worldwide whereas chrysotile is banned only in the countries strictly following the indication of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) which includes chrysotile in Group 1 ”substance carcinogenic to humans”. No ban has been proposed for the zeolite erionite so far.
Despite the clear position of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, chrysotile asbestos is still largely used in about 66% of the countries worldwide including Brasil, China, and Russia. These countries do not apply the ban of chrysotile for which a safe use is permitted. Their position is entrenched in the assumption that only amphibole asbestos minerals are hazardous (the amphibole hyphothesis). The chrysotile ban litigation is still an open issue mostly because revealing the relationship between asbestos and human toxicity is not straightforward at all. The difficulties stem from the fact that mineral fibers possess a variety of chemical compositions, atomic structural arrangements, morphologies that affect biogeochemical reactions in the body. Due to the interplay of all these factors, the mechanisms by which mineral fibres induces cyto- and geno-toxic damage remain unclear.
In this scenario, our mission is to study the nature of mineral fibers, their activity and biological interaction in order to develop a general model to assess their toxicity potential.
Parallel to the research line on mineral fibres, our group is also involved in the study of the thermal transformation of asbestos containing wastes in view of their safe recycling as secondary raw materials.
Actual policies for the reduction of exposure of the population to asbestos fibres prompt the abatement and disposal of asbestos containing materials (ACMs). The removal of large amounts of ACMs calls for another problem: where to safely dispose such hazardous wastes? There are only a few active landfills for the disposal of ACMs in Europe and the recent European directives clearly indicate that dumping in landfill should be discouraged. In fact, such dumping sites do not assure zero risk of fibre dispersion in air and water in the very short and long term. An alternative solution to landfill disposal is the recycling of ACMs via direct temperature induced transformation and recycling of the product of transformation (a safe secondary raw material) for the production of building materials. The transformation product must be asbestos free, as a result of crystal-chemical transformation, and it is a source of calcium and silica to be recycled as secondary raw material. This secondary raw material can be safely recycled for the production of many industrially attractive products such as bricks, plastic materials, glasses, glass-ceramics, ceramic frits, ceramic pigments, cement and concrete.
Our mission is to find a sustainable environmentally friendly solution for the thermal denaturation of asbestos containing watstes and safe recycling of the secondary raw material.
The actual research lines include:
- characterization of the structure, crystal chemistry and surface activity of mineral fibres;
- study of the dissolution in vitro of mineral fibres;
- synchrotron radiation based studies of the interaction of mineral fibers with organic (rat, human) tissues;
- development of a general model of toxicity of mineral fibres and case studies;
- industrial applications of the concept of thermal transformation of asbestos containing wastes and recycling of the secondary raw material.
Related granted past projects:
1) FAR2017 (2018-2019, 70k euro) FONDO DI ATENEO PER LA RICERCA ANNO 2017 PROGETTO DI RICERCA INTERDISCIPLINARE – Fibre potential toxicity Index (FPTI). Resp. scientifico: prof. A.F. Gualtieri.
2) Bando per il cofinanziamento di progetti di ricerca finalizzati allo sviluppo di tecnologie di recupero, riciclaggio e trattamento di rifiuti non rientranti nelle categorie già servite dai consorzi di filiera, all’ecodesign dei prodotti ed alla corretta gestione dei relativi rifiuti (2018-2020, 125k euro). Resp. scientifico: prof. G. Lusvardi.
3) PRIN2017 20173X8WA4 FIBRES: A multidisciplinary mineralogical, crystal-chemical and biological project to amend the paradigm of toxicity and cancerogenicity of mineral fibres (2019-2021, 449k euro). Coordinatore Nazionale: prof. A.F. Gualtieri.
Recent papers:
308) Gualtieri, A.F. Bridging the gap between toxicity and carcinogenicity of mineral fibres by connecting the fibre crystal-chemical and physical parameters to the key characteristics of cancer. Current Research in Toxicology, 2021, 2, pp. 42–52.
309) Giacobbe, C., Di Giuseppe, D., Zoboli, A., Gualtieri M.L., Bonasoni P., Moliterni A., Corriero N., Altomare A., Wright, J., Gualtieri, A.F. Crystal structure determination of a lifelong biopersistent asbestos fibre using single-crystal synchrotron X-ray micro-diffraction. IUCrJ, 2021, 8, pp. 76–86.
310) Gualtieri, A.F., Zoboli, A., Filaferro, M., Benassi M., Scarfì S., Mirata S., Avallone R., Vitale G., Bailey M., Harper, M., Di Giuseppe, D. In vitro toxicity of fibrous glaucophane. Toxicology, 2021, 454, 152743.
311) Scognamiglio, V., Di Giuseppe, D., Gualtieri, M.L., Tomassetti, L., Gualtieri, A.F. A systematic study of the cryogenic milling of chrysotile asbestos. Applied Sciences (Switzerland), 2021, 11(11), 4826.
312) Pini, M., Scarpellini, S., Rosa, R., Neri, P., Gualtieri, A.F., Ferrari, A.M. Management of Asbestos Containing Materials: A Detailed LCA Comparison of Different Scenarios Comprising First Time Asbestos Characterization Factor Proposal. Environmental Science and Technology, 2021, 55(18), pp. 12672–12682.
313) Di Giuseppe, D., Zoboli, A., Nodari, L., Pasquali L., Sala O., Ballirano P., Malferrari D., Raneri S., Hanuskova, M., Gualtieri, A.F. Characterization and assessment of the potential toxicity/pathogenicity of Russian commercial chrysotile. American Mineralogist, 2021, 106(10), pp. 1606–1621.
314) Di Giuseppe, D., Perchiazzi, N., Brunelli, D., Giovanardi T., Nodari L., Della Ventura G., Malferrari D., Maia, M., Gualtieri, A.F. Occurrence and characterization of tremolite asbestos from the Mid Atlantic Ridge. Scientific Reports, 2021, 11(1), 6285.
315) Gualtieri, A.F., Leoncini, M., Rinaldi, L., Zoboli, A., Di Giuseppe, D. WebFPTI: A tool to predict the toxicity/pathogenicity of mineral fibres including asbestos. Earth Science Informatics, 2021, 14(4), pp. 2401–2409.
316) Di Giuseppe, D., Scognamiglio, V., Malferrari, D., Nodari L., Pasquali L., Gualtieri M.L., Scarfì S., Mirata S., Tessari U., Hanuskova, M., Gualtieri, A.F. Characterization of fibrous wollastonite NYAD G in view of its use as negative standard for in vitro toxicity tests. Minerals, 2021, 11(12), 1378.
317) Malferrari, D., Di Giuseppe, D., Scognamiglio, V., Gualtieri, A. F., Commercial brucite, a worldwide used raw material deemed safe, can be contaminated by asbestos. Periodico di Mineralogia, 2021, 90(3).
318) Gualtieri, A.F., Lassinantti Gualtieri, M., Scognamiglio, V. and Di Giuseppe, D., 2022. Human Health Hazards Associated with Asbestos in Building Materials. In Ecological and Health Effects of Building Materials, 2022, 297-325. Springer.
319) Giordani M., Mattioli M., Cangiotti M., Fattori A., Ottaviani M.F., Betti M., Ballirano P., Pacella A., Di Giuseppe D., Scognamiglio V., Hanuskova M., Gualtieri A.F. Characterisation of potentially toxic natural fibrous zeolites by means of electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and morphological-mineralogical studies. Chemosphere, 2022, 133067.
320) Arletti, R., Conte, S., Zanelli, C., De Iuliis, M., Di Giuseppe, D., Scognamiglio, V., Malferrari, D., Dondi, M., Gualtieri, A.F. Recycling the Product of Thermal Inertization of Man-Made Vitreous Fibres for the Manufacture of Stoneware Tiles. Waste and Biomass Valorization, 2022, 1-16.
321) Malferrari, D., Bernini, F., Di Giuseppe, D., Scognamiglio, V., Gualtieri, A.F. Al-Substituted Tobermorites: An Effective Cation Exchanger Synthesized from end-of-Waste Materials. ACS Omega, 2022, 7(2), 1694 1702.
322) Di Giuseppe, D., Scarfì, S., Alessandrini, A., Bassi, A.M., Mirata, S., Almonti, V., Ragazzini, G., Mescola, A., Filaferro, M., Avallone, R., Vitale, G., Scognamiglio, V. Acute cytotoxicity of mineral fibres observed by time-lapse video microscopy. Toxicology, 46630, 153081.
323) Giordani M., Mattioli M., Cangiotti M., Fattori A., Ottaviani M.F., Betti M., Ballirano P., Pacella A., Di Giuseppe D., Scognamiglio V., Hanuskova M., Gualtieri A.F. Characterisation of potentially toxic natural fibrous zeolites by means of electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and morphologicalmineralogical studies. Chemosphere, 2022, 133067.
324) Mirata, S., Almonti, V., Di Giuseppe, D., Fornasini, L., Raneri, S., Vernazza, S., Bersani, D., Gualtieri, A.F., Bassi, A.M., Scarfì, S. The Acute Toxicity of Mineral Fibres: A Systematic In Vitro Study Using Different THP-1 Macrophage Phenotypes. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2022, 23(5), 2840.
325) Fornasini, L., Raneri, S., Bersani, D., Mantovani, L., Scognamiglio V., Di Giuseppe, D., Gualtieri, A.F. Identification of iron compounds in chrysotile from the Balangero mine (Turin, Italy) by micro-Raman spectroscopy. Journal of Raman Spectroscopy, 2022, 53(11), 1931 1941.
327) Gualtieri, A.F. (2023). Journey to the Centre of the Lung. The Perspective of a Mineralogist on the Carcinogenic Effects of Mineral Fibres in the Lungs. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 130077.ù
329) Giacobbe, C., Moliterni, A., Di Giuseppe, D., Malferrari, D., Wright, J. P., Mattioli, M., Raneri, S., Giannini, C., Fornasini, L., Mugnaioli, E., Ballirano, P., Gualtieri, A. F. (2023). The crystal structure of the killer fibre erionite from Tuzköy (Cappadocia, Turkey). IUCrJ, 10(4).
331) Arletti, R., Conte, S., Zanelli, C., De Iuliis, M., Di Giuseppe, D., Scognamiglio, V., Malferrari, D., Dondi, M., Gualtieri, A. F. (2023). Recycling the Product of Thermal Inertization of Man-Made Vitreous Fibres for the Manufacture of Stoneware Tiles. Waste and Biomass Valorization, 14(5), 1721-1736.
332) Gualtieri, A. F., Malferrari, D., Di Giuseppe, D., Scognamiglio, V., Sala, O., Gualtieri, M. L., Bersani, D., Fornasini, L., Mugnaioli, E. (2023). There is plenty of asbestos at the bottom. The case of magnesite raw material contaminated with asbestos fibres. Science of The Total Environment, 898, 166275.
333) A.F. Gualtieri, M. Leoncini, S. Fantone, S. Di Valerio, G. Tossetta, A.D. Procopio, D. Marzioni, A. Pugnaloni, A. Maria Bassi, V. Almonti, S. Mirata, S. Vernazza, S. Tirendi, B. Marengo, N. Traverso, M. Passalacqua, S. Scarfì, S. Raneri, L. Fornasini, D. Bersani, N. . Ballirano, A. Pacella, A. Bloise, M.F. Ottaviani, M. Mattioli, M. Giordani, G. Della Ventura (2023) PRIN 2017 Fibres – A Multidisciplinary Mineralogical, Crystal-Chemical and Biological Project. What have we learned after four years of research? Periodico di Mineralogia, 92, 143-158.
334) A. Pugnaloni, S. Di Valerio, G. Tossetta, T. Armeni, L. Cianfruglia, L. Tiano, F. Marchegiani, P. Stipa, E. Laudadio, S. Sabbatini, C. Minnelli, S. Vaiasicca, D. Ramini, A.D. Procopio, F. Fazioli, A.F. Gualtieri (2023) Cytotoxicity in vitro of two non-commercial samples of chrysotile and fibrous erionite. Periodico di Mineralogia, 92, 241-259.
335) Mirata, S., Bassi, A. M., Almonti, V., Tirendi, S., Vernazza, S., Fornasini, L., Raneri, S., Bersani, D., Passalacqua, M., Gualtieri, A.F., Scarfì, S. (2023). Cytotoxic and pro-inflammatory early effects of mineral fibres on human alveolar epithelial and immune cells. Periodico di Mineralogia, 92(2), 223-239.
336) Gualtieri, A.F., Mirata, S., Almonti, V., Bassi, A. M., Meo, C., Scarfì, S., Zapparoli, M., Armeni, T., Cianfruglia, L., Marzioni, D., Fantone, S., Tossetta, G., Stipa, P., Laudadio, E., Sabbatini, S., Minnelli, C., Di Valerio, S., Vaiasicca, S., Procopio, A.D., Pugnaloni, A. (2023). In vitro toxicity of short vs long chrysotile fibres. Periodico di Mineralogia, 92(2), 203-222.
337) Gualtieri, A.F. (2023) Contributi della Mineralogia alla transizione verde sostenibile. Il caso del riciclo delle lane minerali. Acc. Sc. Torino, A cura di R. Oberti, Quaderni, 41, 33-51.
Selected ORAL Congress Contributions
A.F. Gualtieri (2015) Asbestos detection and prevention: the European Experience. 2015 Weinman Symposium “International Conference on Mesothelioma in populations exposed to Naturally Occurring Asbestiform fibers”, Sullivan Conference Center, University of Hawai’i, Honolulu (Hawai’i USA), 9-10/11/2015 (O).
Gualtieri_Weinman_symposium_Honolulu_short
A.F. Gualtieri (2016) Towards a general model to predict the toxicity of mineral fibres? The perspective of the fibre. 11th International Particle Toxicity Conference, Singapore, 26-30 September 2016.
A.F. Gualtieri, S. Pollastri, N. Bursi Gandolfi, M. Lassinannti Gualtieri (2016) In vitro acellular dissolution of mineral fibres 11th International Particle Toxicity Conference, Singapore, 26-30 September 2016.
166) Giacobbe, C., Wright, J., Dejoie, C., Vigliaturo, R., Berruyer, C., Gualtieri, A.F. (2019) When diffraction meets tomography: the ferrierite case for the improvement of mineral fibres crystallographic characterization. Congresso AIC, Napoli, 4-7 Settembre 2019.
167) Gualtieri, A.F. (2019) Introduction to the global issue of Naturally Occurring Asbestos (NOA). The 2nd EMU (European Mineralogical Union) school on mineral fibres – Casale Monferrato (Alessandria, Italy) – September 9-13, 2019.
168) Gualtieri, A.F. (2019) FPTI: a general model to predict the toxicity of mineral. The 2nd EMU (European Mineralogical Union) school on mineral fibres – Casale Monferrato (Alessandria, Italy) – September 9-13, 2019.
169) Gualtieri, A.F. (2019) L’amianto. Workshop “Cancerogeni nell’edilizia”, Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, UNIMORE, 13 Dicembre 2019.
170) Gualtieri, A.F., Lusvardi G., Ligabue M.L., Malferrari D. (2020) Stato dell’arte del progetto KRYAS: sviluppi e nuove applicazioni nell’ottica dell’economia circolare. Workshop Materie prime per piastrelle ceramiche. Sassuolo (MO), 20 Febbraio 2020.
171) Gualtieri, A.F., Di Giuseppe D. (2020) Fibrous ferrierite from Lovelock, Nevada (USA). IAEG NOA-EMP Online Symposium, May 13-14, 2020.
180) Danilo Bersani, Laura Fornasini, Simona Raneri, Luciana Mantovani, Valentina Scognamiglio, Dario Di Giuseppe, and Alessandro F. Gualtieri. Micro-Raman investigation on Fe-bearing impurities in chrysotile fibres. EGU22-8515 | Presentations | NH8.3. Wed, 25 May, 09:18 09:25. European Union of Geology (EGU) General Assembly, Vienna, Austria & Online, 23 27 May 2022.
181) Janki Patel, Martin Brook, Dario Di Giuseppe, Valentina Scognamiglio, Alessandro F. Gualtieri, Melanie Kah, and Ayrton Hamilton. Erionite in New Zealand: initial assessment and characterization. Wed, 25 May, 08:43 08:50. European Union of Geology (EGU) General Assembly, Vienna, Austria & Online, 23 27 May 2022.
187) Ann G. Wylie, Giovanni B. Andreozzi, Mark Bailey, Bryan Bandli, Bruce W. Case, Giancarlo Della Ventura, Laurie Glossop, Alessandro F. Gualtieri, Mickey Gunter, Don Halterman, Peter Heaney, Erell Leocat, Brooke T. Mossman. A Report of the IMA Working Group on Asbestiform Minerals. IMA 2022. 23rd General Meeting of the International Mineralogical Association. Cité Centre the Congrès de Lyon, Lyon, France, 18-23 July 2022.
193) Gualtieri A.F. Globalization and asbestos. The issue of the flow of asbestos-contaminated raw materials in the free world market. CONGRESSO SGI-SIMP 2022 – GEOSCIENCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE. Torino, 19-22 Settembre 2022.
194) Mirata S., Di Giuseppe D., Almonti V., Vernazza S., Gualtieri A.F., Bassi A.M., Scarfì S., Fornasini L., Raneri S., Bersani D. The acute toxicity of mineral fibres: a systematic in vitro study using different THP-1 macrophage phenotypes. CONGRESSO SGI-SIMP 2022 – GEOSCIENCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE. Torino, 19-22 Settembre 2022.
196) A.F. Gualtieri (2023) There is plenty of asbestos at the bottom. The case of magnesite raw material contaminated with asbestos. FAMANZ Australian & New Zealand 2023 Conference – Asbestos Collaboration is the key. Auckland (New Zealand), 21-22 March 2023.
200) Gualtieri A.F. (2023) Assessing and Managing Risks Associated with Erionite and Low-Level Asbestos. AUCKLAND IN PERSON EVENT – ALGA Australasian Land & Groundwater Association Workshop Building leaders in the sustainable management of contaminated land and groundwater . Simpson Grierson 27/88 Shortland Street, Auckland (New Zealand), August 17th, 2023.
201) Gualtieri A.F. (2023) Actual and potential hazard represented by Naturally occurring Erinote (NOE). AusIMM New Zealand Brach Annual Conference Enabling a sustainable future , Rydges Latimer Christchurch (New Zealand), 20-22 August 2023.
202) Patel, J., Brook, M., Gualtieri, A.F., Kah, M., Hamilton, A. (2023) New data on the Geology and characteristics of erionite in New Zealand. AusIMM New Zealand Brach Annual Conference Enabling a sustainable future , Rydges Latimer Christchurch (New Zealand), 20-22 August 2023.
203) Fan, W., Lim, S., Salmond J.A., Young, P., Gualtieri, A.F., Brook, M., Dirks, K.N. (2023) Detection and characterization of airborne zeolite fibres on leaf surfaces across different locations. AusIMM New Zealand Brach Annual Conference Enabling a sustainable future , Rydges Latimer Christchurch (New Zealand), 20-22 August 2023.
204) Gualtieri A.F. (2023) (KEY-NOTE) Erionite: the story and the hazard. 1st Erionite and Mineral Fibers Symposium, Faculty of Science, University of Auckland, Auckland (New Zealand), 28-29 August 2023.
205) Patel, J., Brook, M., Gualtieri, A.F., Kah, M., Hamilton, A. (2023) Characterization and Geological occurrence of erionite in New Zealand 1st Erionite and Mineral Fibers Symposium, Faculty of Science, University of Auckland, Auckland (New Zealand), 28-29 August 2023.
206) Fan, W., Lim, S., Salmond J.A., Young, P., Gualtieri, A.F., Brook, M., Dirks, K.N. (2023) Unveiling environmental mineral fibres in ambient air: a novel approach through leaf surface sampling and electron microscopic analysis. 1st Erionite and Mineral Fibers Symposium, Faculty of Science, University of Auckland, Auckland (New Zealand), 28-29 August 2023.
210) Fantini R., Sisti M., Arletti R., Malferrari D., Cavallo A. & Gualtieri A.F. – Identification and quantification of Ni occurrence in serpentinites from the Valmalenco mining area (Sondrio, Central Alps, Northern Italy). Congresso congiunto SIMP, SGI, SOGEI, AIV – The Geoscience paradigm: Resources, Risks and future perspectives, Potenza, 19-21 September 2023.
211) Gualtieri A.F. (KEY-NOTE), Fantone S., Di Valerio S., Tossetta G., Procopio A.D., Marzioni D., Pugnaloni A., Bassi A.M., Almonti V., Mirata S., Vernazza S., Tirendi S., Marengo B., Traverso N., Passalacqua M., Scarfì S., Raneri S., Fornasini L., Bersani D., Perchiazzi N., Ballirano P., Pacella A., Bloise A., Ottaviani M.F., Mattioli M., Giordani M. & Della Ventura G. – PRIN 2017 Fibres – A Multidisciplinary Mineralogical, Crystal-Chemical and Biological Project. What have we learned after four years of research? Congresso congiunto SIMP, SGI, SOGEI, AIV – The Geoscience paradigm: Resources, Risks and future perspectives, Potenza, 19-21 September 2023.
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ELETTRA TOP STORIES
A closer look at the toxicity mechanisms of erionite, a major natural carcinogen
Paper link:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935124007825?via%3Dihub