Picture of asbetos

Exposure to asbestos is a major health concern. In order to safeguard the public, it is necessary to recognize where one is likely to find asbestos, identify its presence, and if the material has been compromised, arrange for safe removal or repair.

Naturally occurring asbestos, a fibrous mineral, exists in several different forms. Common types are white asbestos known as chrysotile, and brown asbestos or amosite. The chrysotile fibers are curly; those in amosite are straight and resemble rods or needles. The mineral was widely used in manufacturing because of a number of desirable properties, including being incombustible and resistant to chemicals.

Due to its ability to withstand heat and fire, asbestos became popular in a diverse range of products such as building insulation, pipe insulation, floor tiles, ceiling tiles, siding, roofing, brake linings, firewall and fire curtains. Most countries now have laws forbidding the use of the asbestos in manufacturing, but that legislation has only come about in the last 20 to 40 years. Particularly in buildings constructed in the middle of the previous century, asbestos-containing materials abounded.

Due to the vast array of products containing asbestos, identification is nontrivial. Experts can recognize products that contain asbestos, but detection of the presence of asbestos fibers requires laboratory testing. Asbestos fibers present a health risk to humans when the microscopic fibers become airborne and are inhaled into the lungs. Much of the manufacturing involving asbestos included the use of a bonding compound, immobilizing the fibers such that they present less of a danger.

Of greatest concern are materials containing asbestos that are in disrepair and crumbling, prone to produce a fine dust. Examples would include broken ceiling tiles, or fireproofing or insulation that was sprayed onto a building surface. Such dangers should be handled by trained professionals following government mandated procedures.

Asbestos is the name for thin fibers produced during the processing of the mineral serpentine. The threads are strong and resistant to heat. Longer asbestos fibers could be spun into threads and then woven with other materials, such as cotton, to create fire-resistant fabrics. Shorter asbestos fibers were once used in the production of building materials, such as insulation and roofing tiles, and car parts, such as brake pads and gaskets. Asbestos added strength and heat resistance to products that must perform under extremely hot conditions.

Asbestos had been produced in small quantities for centuries, but it did not become commercially viable until the late nineteenth century. In the 1860s and 1870s, asbestos began to be extracted and processed on a large scale from mines in Italy and Quebec, Canada. A century later, Canada, the United States, and the Soviet Union were the world’s main producers of asbestos. By the mid-twentieth century, asbestos was an essential ingredient in any safety- or building-related product that needed to be both heat-resistant and durable.

By the late twentieth century, however, asbestos began to be associated with serious health risks, particularly lung cancer. Researchers eventually discovered the link between breathing in fibers of asbestos and a fatal form of respiratory cancer called asbestosis. Governments around the world began to regulate the processing and use of asbestos in order to reduce exposure. At first, the regulation in the United States was designed to protect asbestos workers, but by the late 1980s, new regulations were in place to eliminate the commercial use of asbestos altogether. Today asbestos is banned in the United States. No one may produce, sell, use or export materials containing asbestos. Other materials have since been developed to take the place of asbestos in building and safety materials and other industrial products.