Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An iron-rich form of amphibole that occurs in long white fibers and is a form of asbestos.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun mineralogy A variety of grunerite asbestos, once used in insulation.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[After Amosa Ltd., South African company mining this mineral, from A(sbestos) M(ines) o(f) S(outh) A(frica).]

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Examples

  • South Africa mined crocidolite, amosite and chrysotile asbestos extensively from the late 1800s until 2001.

    ANC Daily News Briefing 2008

  • The geology of asbestos centers on the the three most common types: chrysotile, amosite, and crocidolite.

    Asbestos 2008

  • Such applications used mainly chrysotile or amosite, although crocidolite was commonly used in Europe, this practice was discontinued in the 1970s because of health concerns.

    Asbestos 2008

  • Because certain kinds - among them chrysotile (white), crocidolite (blue), and amosite (brown) - are durable, resist heat, and possess fire-retardant properties, they were once widely used for insulation and fireproofing.

    Health Warning: Your Pre-1980 Home May Contain Asbestos in Some Form 2008

  • With crocidolite, only small amounts of magnesium and sodium are extracted in these conditions, whereas amosite liberates substantial quantities of iron and magnesium.

    Geology of asbestos 2007

  • The trend observed of increasing tensile strength of amphiboles from tremolite, to amosite, to crocidolite is directly related to the iron content of these fibers.

    Geology of asbestos 2007

  • Only three varieties of amphibole fibers will be discussed because: crocidolite and amosite were the only amphiboles with significant industrial uses in recent years; tremolite, although having essentially no industrial application, may be found as a contaminant in other fibers or in other industrial minerals (e.g., chrysotile and talc).

    Geology of asbestos 2007

  • The amosite deposit found in similar rock formations is the result of a high temperature metamorphic process.

    Geology of asbestos 2007

  • The tensile strengths of amosite and crocidolite are comparable to that of chrysotile.

    Geology of asbestos 2007

  • With this mind, Zimbabwe's government has renewed efforts to draw a distinction between white asbestos and crucidolite, or blue asbestos, and amosite (brown asbestos).

    ANC Daily News Briefing 2003

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