MICROSCOPIC AND MICROCHEMICAL INVESTIGATIONS ON THE FIBROUS AMPHIBOLES FROM ETNA VOLCANO DISTRICT (Catania-Italy)

In the Town of Biancavilla (Catania), the occurrence of a fibrous amphibole that has the characteristics and pathogenicities of amphibole asbestos is well known(1,2). Such phase, identified as Fluor - edenites (1), has been found in a rather common volcanic formation in SW of Etna volcanic district. Consequently, it is necessary to understand the aspects of formation of these amphiboles of Biancavilla, its paragenesis, and the entity of the area interested by its presence. From the data of sampling of the air near Biancavilla, some Authors have found fibers that show the composition of fluorine-amphibole of Biancavilla (3). In the massive materials of the Monte Calvario quarry (the first places where F-amphiboles were founded) it is easy to observe some different kinds of prismatic and acicular crystals with compositions that come from pyroxene to F-amphibole