Asbestos is a very harmful carcinogenic substance, which can cause cancer. However, the world's safest asbestos is produced at the Ak-Dovuraksky chrysotile (raw asbestos) deposit in Tuva. Its harmful effects were checked on rats. As a result of the experiment, the lungs of only 10% of the rats were damaged. This is a small number as compared to chrysotile produced at other Russian and foreign deposits.
Russian scientists studied the low carcinogenicity of this asbestos. The cause lies in its microstructure. The chrystallographic analysis has shown that the surface of Tuva chrysotile is smoother and more homogenous than that of asbestos from other deposits. Therefore, the electric charge of the mineral's surface is the smallest. Experiments have proven that smooth surfaces and small electric charges are linked with the low carcinogenicity of this mineral.
