Asbestos in Vermiculite

To: Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com (Aquatic-Plants)
Subject: Asbestos in Vermiculite
From: williaro at ftmcphsn-emh1_army.mil (Williams, Rochelle - DCSPIM)
Date: Wed, 31 Jan 1996 20:03:41 -0500


Greg Tong, in San Francisco, wrote:
"My favorite nursery told me today that it has stopped carrying vermiculite
because vermiculite has asbestos in it. The nursery is large and well-known
in the San Francisco-Berkeley area for its quality.  Can anyone shed light 
on
this? I was just about to buy some vermiculite to mix with the substrate in 
my
new plant tank.

I haven't heard a single word about this and believe someone started a 
rumor.
 I work in the clean air field which includes asbestos.  Vermiculite, when 
dry,
has a tendency to fly away when a breeze touches it.  This tendency is
technically called "being friable," meaning you can easily inhale it.  All 
friable
asbestos is no longer sold, according to U.S. law.  It is also law that all 
friable
asbestos must be removed (big bucks $$$) or sealed in an acceptable
manner.  Just from this last information, I'm pretty sure vermiculite is 
safe.

If you want to use another product because you can no longer get 
vermiculite,
try perlite.  It's made from volcanic rock which is heated and popped - just 
like
popcorn.  It serves the same purpose as vermiculite, has slightly larger 
granule
size, but I don't know what effects it has on water chemistry.  Has anyone
used perlite?

Rochelle Williams
williaro at ftmcphsn-emh1_army.mil
Air Pollution Environmental Engineer
Avid Gardener and Aquarist
Atlanta, Georgia - Home of the gold medal for worst Olympic traffic jam.