Asbestos deposits have been used locally by the rural inhabitants of Central and Southeastern Anatolia for domestic purposes for many years. Mineralogical analysis revealed that
tremolite is the most prominent
asbestos type found in the region. There is in addition another
mineral fiber found particularly in three villages located in the Cappadocian region of Central Anatolia (
zeolite villages). This is a non-
asbestos mineral, which has been identified as the fibrous
zeolite,
erionite. This fiber is present in the volcanic tuffs, which are used as building stone. Hence, exposure to
erionite fibers is always possible in the houses, annexes, and streets of the villages. It has been demonstrated that both
asbestos and
erionite cause a variety of benign and malignant chest diseases. Among the diseases, calcified pleural plaques (
CPP) are the most frequently seen and may be used as an
indicator of
mineral fiber exposure.
Asbestos and
erionite exposure are the main causes of
malignant mesotheliomas in Turkey. In
zeolite villages
malignant mesothelioma is responsible for more than 50% of the total deaths. A recent study showed that simian virus 40 is not a cofactor in the pathogenesis of environmental
malignant mesothelioma in Turkey. An additional recent genetic-epidemiological study showed that there are some families, which are genetically predisposed to
mesothelioma.