Erionite has been determined by the North Dakota Department of Health to be a health threat to those who work in gravel pit excavation operations and highway crews.  It has been found to occur in several areas whose extractions have been used as the base-course gravel in road beds.

Erionite has fiberous, needle-like particles, similar to asbestos, which can pierce and embed in lung tissue, resulting in similar symptoms to asbestosis or silicosis.

A recent US EPA study proposed a two-tiered method for determining the presence of erionite in the mined material.  This involves the use of the SEM (scanning electron microscope) to visualize the needle-like structures in a sample, and also X-ray diffraction to isolate and identify the crystal structure of the erionite mineral in contrast to another mineral compound that has a similar diffraction pattern, but erionite has several weaker peaks that are positive indicators for its presence in the sample.

H&M is one of a small number of testing labs that has been identified to provide this service.