Synchrotron X-ray microscopy reveals early calcium and iron interaction with crocidolite fibers in the lung of exposed mice.

•In a murine model of asbestos exposure a relevant inflammatory and atypical hyperplastic reaction was induced.•Inflamed lung tissue regions of mice exposed to crocidolite, 1 month after treatment, were analyzed at two different synchrotron facilities: a high and a low energy microscopy set-up.•Where conventional histochemical staining procedures fail to reveal any significant calcium and iron deposition, μ-XRF analysis is able to detect significant deposits of both iron and calcium on the macrophage ingested fibers.•Asbestos fibers can induce iron and calcium ions sequestration early on following exposure.•This process is concomitant with the appearance of inflammatory and hyperplastic reactions.