Analysis of Asbestos and Mineral Elements in Talci Pulvis from Different Habitats with the Methods of SEM-EDXA and ICP-AES

Talci Pulvis (huashifen) is a powder prepared from Talcum by sorting, cleaning, pulverizing, and drying according to Chinese Pharmacopeoa (2010 edition, Part I). It is mainly distributed in Guangxi, Jiangxi, Qinghai, Shandong, and Liaoning provinces in China. Talci Pulvis can be divided into nine types such as the first type for cosmetics, the second type for medicine and food, the third type for paint et al. according to its different application. It contains main components of hydrous magnesium silicate and the trace elements of Fe, Al and Ca et al. Asbestos, a cancerigenic chemical ingredient, was associated in Talci Pulvis in some reports recently years. So it is very important to set up some analytical methods for quality control of Talci Pulvis.

First, the elements of Mg, O, Si, Fe, Al, Ca and asbestos in 20 samples of Talci Pulvis had been determined with SEM-EDXA. And then the elements of Mg, Ca, Al, Fe, Hg, Pb, Cu, Cr, Cd and As had been determined with ICP-AES. Compared with asbestos standard substance, the results showed that asbestos wasn't determined in 20 samples of Talci Pulvis so that it was safe to use it in pharmaceuticals industry. The results also showed that mineral elements were rich in Talci Pulvis, with high content Mg and low contents Ca, Fe, Al, but five heavy metal elements As, Hg, Pb, Cd, Cu weren't determined in all samples. It indicated that it was associated with chlorite ore, calcite ore and kaolin ore.