Sampling and Analysis of Consumer Garden Products that Contain Vermiculite

摘要

The Environmental Protection Agency has conducted sampling of vermiculite products, primarily those used in gardening, to determine if products currently on the market contain asbestos, and if so, whether consumers are at risk from using these products. To evaluate the risk posed by compounds such as asbestos, EPA needs to determine if the contaminant is present in certain products and also whether people come in contact with sufficient quantities to cause harm. Asbestos poses a risk to people if fibers become airborne and are inhaled into the lungs. The results of this investigation indicate that the potential exposure to asbestos from vermiculite products poses only a minimal health risk to consumers, although workers may face more serious risks. Vermiculite is produced from mined ore and is used in agricultural and horticultural products as well as in insulation and construction applications. As a first step in the process, the Agency purchased and began testing a limited number of vermiculite products available in garden stores in the Seattle area to determine if they were contaminated with asbestos. Sixteen products were tested using widely-recognized standard protocols and asbestos was detected in five of them. However, only three of these contained enough asbestos to allow EPA to quantify the percentage of asbestos reliably.