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Potential use in carbon sequestration

The potential for use of asbestos to mitigate climate change has been raised. Although the adverse aspects of mining of minerals, including health effects, must be taken into account, exploration of the use of mineral wastes to sequester carbon is being studied. The use of mining waste materials from nickel, copper, diamond, and platinum mines have the potential as well, but asbestos may have the greatest potential and is the subject of research now in progress in an emerging field of scientific study to examine it. The most common type of asbestos, chrysotile, chemically reacts with CO to produce ecologically stable magnesium carbonate. Chrysotile, like all types of asbestos, has a large surface area that provides more places for chemical reactions to occur, compared to most other naturally occurring materials.