Asbestos is fibrous minerals, some of which can naturally occur in certain types of marble, including asbestiform tremolite, actinolite, anthophyllite, and chrysotile, with tremolite the most common among those associated asbestos types. This is of concern as miners and stone workers may not be aware of this and may never be considered by physicians treating them for lung related ailments. Wet marble dust in slurry form is disposed of at designated waste collection points, including in Rajsamand, Rajasthan. unfortunately, this location is now open to the public as a tourist attraction. Dust from this location was tested using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and tremolite asbestos fibres were found. The presence of tremolite means the workers, bystanders and tourists to the waste collection spots may be exposed to this carcinogen and this may become the etiological factor for mesothelioma or lung cancer among other asbestos related diseases. The marble industry in general should also be subjected to the same regulations as the asbestos industry due to the presence of naturally occurring asbestos in such mines. This is particularly germane in India where asbestos is widely being used and studies show a significant and increasing number of asbestos related lung and pleural, malignant and non-malignant diseases including cancers, such as mesothelioma. This study aims to highlight the occupational and environmental health hazard among workers and the general public.

Second and last authors do medical-legal work regarding asbestos, primarily for plaintiffs. The other authors declares no conflict of interest. No funding has been received for this work

No funding has been received for this work.

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

Yes

I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals.

Yes

I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).

Yes

I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable.

Yes

All data produced in the present work are contained in the manuscript