The biological effects of magnesium-leached chrysotile asbestos.

Chrysotile asbestos was leached in N hydrochloric acid for varying times to produce a range of magnesium-depleted samples. The protein adsorptive capacity, the haemolytic activity, and the capacity to cause selective release of acid hydrolases from macrophages were measured for the various samples in vitro. The carcinogenicity of the same materials was determined following intrapleural inoculation in rats. The adsorptive capacity for albumin decreased linearly with magnesium removal. The haemolytic activity also declined until about half the magnesium had been removed, after which there was little further change. The selective release of acid hydrolases from macrophages in culture increased up to the point at which half the magnesium had been removed but by 90% depletion had declined rapidly. The carcinogenicity of 50% -depleted chrysotile was similar to that of intact, but at 90% depletion the incidence of mesothelial tumours had fallen considerably. There was no evidence that the leached samples fragmented more than the unleached in vivo.