By Ben Harder
In two Turkish villages, nearly half of all deaths since 1980 have resulted from a form of cancer caused by inhaling erionite, a brittle and fibrous volcanic mineral found in construction materials used in the villages.
Millions of rural residents in central Turkey have probably been exposed to hazardous amounts of the mineral, say Y. Izzettin Baris of Güven Hospital in Ankara, Turkey, and Philippe Grandjean of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.