Chemical and physical properties of British talc powders.

An examination of bulk talc samples imported into Great Britain has shown that they are extremely variable in their talc mineral content. Major contaminating minerals present with the talc are chlorite, carbonates and quartz. The chemistry of samples examined varied with their mineralogical content which also accounted for observed differences in particle morphology. Tremolite fibres were found in three samples, one of which contained the mineral as a major phase. No other varieties of asbestos were detected.