How is North Dakota like Turkey ? Both areas include a mineral known as erionite. That’s noteworthy because certain Turkish villages are known as "cancer villages" because so many residents die from the vicious cancer known as mesothelioma. Mesothelioma cancers are often – but not always – attributable to inhalation of amphibole-type asbestos fibers. This article from Nature News reports on brand new studies finding that North Dakota’s erionite is much like the erionite found in the Turkish villages, and "environmental exposures" likely are occuring. So, far, however, no one has found clusters of disease