[SymphonicHealth] NEWS: Clove extract neutralises asbestos fibres (OILS, HEALTH, REMEDIES) (fwd)

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Subject: [symphonicHealth] NEWS: Clove extract neutralises asbestos fibres

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Clove extract neutralises asbestos fibres

by Andy Coghlan

19:00 07 November 2001

From New Scientist Print Edition

Cloves are legendary for their power to numb toothache and, unlikely as

it seems, the aromatic spice looks destined for a role in removing

asbestos, the fibrous mineral once used routinely to fireproof buildings.

Alternatives to conventional techniques are desperately needed. Usually

buildings have to be sealed off during mechanical removal, with air

pressure differentials imposed to stop the deadly fibres escaping into

the air.

Workers must wear protective clothing to avoid breathing in the lethal

fibres, which cause lung cancer and mesothelioma - a cancer of the lung

cavity. Even with these precautions, fibres can linger in the air for

more than four years, according to research by the US Environmental

Protection Agency.

Now Italian chemists have neutralised the lethal fibres using an extract

of cloves. When the liquid extract touches the surface of asbestos, it

instantly hardens into a polymer similar to lignin, which gives wood its

strength. All the potentially hazardous fibres are harmlessly embedded

in the polymer and can't float off into the air.

Free radicals

Bice Fubini and her colleagues in the department of inorganic chemistry

at the University of Turin used a combination of hydrogen peroxide and

eugenol, a phenol-like chemical found in cloves - Eugenia caryophyllata.

Working with colleagues Ivana Fenoglio and Maura Tomatis, Fubini proved

that the treatment works on blue asbestos or crocidolite, one of the

most dangerous forms of the mineral.

" We knew already that eugenol would polymerise on various silicates, so

we thought we'd try it on asbestos, which is a similar silicate, " says

Fubini. They're confident it will also work on the white (chrysotile)

and brown (amosite) forms.

As an added bonus, the polymer also mopped up the " free radical "

chemical complexes that can lurk on fibres and damage DNA, potentially

turning cells cancerous.

Buried danger

The polymer has stayed stable since the experiment, the team report. " It

could probably be buried without much danger to people, " she says. " It

could also possibly stay where it is in a building, but this would need

to be tested absolutely to make sure it would be safe. "

The team hopes that a company will step in to commercialise the idea and

work out how best to apply it. " It must be adapted to practical

purposes, " she says, with eugenol either extracted from cloves or

synthesised.

From June 2002, all owners of business premises in Britain will have to

make safe any asbestos in their buildings. " If some-thing seals the

asbestos, it's a far more permanent solution, " says Terry Jago, chief

executive of Britain's Asbestos Removal Contractors Association.

Journal reference: Chemical Communications (2001, p 2182)

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn1535

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