The Mineral Information Institute describes mica at
http://www.mii.org/Minerals/photomica.html as...
"Mica is a mineral name given to a group of minerals that are similar
in their physical properties and chemical compositions. They are all
silicate minerals, which means that chemically they all contain
silica(SiO4)."
The site further explains that, "mica is used in electronic insulators
(mainly in vacuum tubes), ground mica in paint, as joint cement, as a
dusting agent, in well-drilling muds, and in plastics, roofing,
rubber, and welding rods."
I searched findlaw.com and could find no cases or class-action
lawsuits relating to health claims arising from exposure to mica. I
used only the term mica, and nothing came up regarding mica mines,
mining or exposure. During my searching elsewhere, I did come across
one lawsuit in New Mexico but it related only to the ecological impact
of a mica mine to its surrounding environment.
In searching the web, I've indicated the search strategy I used and
included a link or two that the search produced.
Search Terms: mica exposure
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11813219&dopt=Abstract
Search Terms: mica materials safety long term exposure
many useful links, most of which lack any concrete data regarding mica
Search Terms: mica pneumoconiosis
http://www.burgesspigment.com/website.nsf/0/a9151e811008dc5c85256e35007e53d0?OpenDocument
Search Terms: mica health problems
http://medind.nic.in/imvw/imvw15878.html
http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:2_IyX8IW40EJ:www.minesandcommunities.org/Mineral/women2.htm+mica+health+problems&hl=en&start=8
Search Terms: mesothelioma mica
http://thorax.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/55/10/860
Clearly you should be very concerned if the mine near you were used to
extract similar minerals, such as vermiculite, as the following search
demonstrates:
Search Terms: vermiculite mine asbestos
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:V8H9fMUqJvsJ:seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/apbiz_story.asp%3Fcategory%3D1310%26slug%3DGrace%2520Indictments+vermiculite+mine+asbestos&hl=en&start=2
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=479676&page=3
If you could provide the actual name of the mine and the state/region,
more thorough research would be possible. |
