Asbestos Historical Usage
The historical usage of asbestos goes back many years some say as many as 4500 years in fact. Some archeologists have found evidence that some of the Lake Juojärvi region inhabitants of East Finland used an asbestos mineral anthophyllite. Many of their cooking utensils were strengthened with the durable mineral.
Where the Name Asbestos Originated
Some believe the original name for the mineral came from the Greeks. Such as from Theophrastus in his documentation of stones back in 300 BC when the naming of minerals was not very consistent and described a mineral more related to lime. The best description came from a Roman naturalist Pliny; he used the term asbestinon that meant (unquenchable).
Some of the early Persians bought asbestos imported and awed their guests by cleaning the cloth by putting it into fire. The Persians believed it to be an animal skin from the salamander and tolerated fire which was a myth that the salamander could also tolerate fire.
Asbestos will cause the skin to itch and in ancient literature it was used as a treatment for skin diseases. Some believe that the term asbestos was a substitute for soapstone. Very often through history the two terms were confused.
More Recent Usage of Asbestos
As early as 1858 the fibrous anthophyllite mining was used for insulation. The mineral was being widely used as insulation in both U.S. and Canada. In 1874 saw the first truly commercial asbestos mine in the Appalachians. Fire retardant coatings, bricks, concrete, acid resistant gaskets, fireproof drywall joint compound, roofing and lawn furniture were all being made out of asbestos by the mid 20th century.
Over the years hundreds of thousands of people have died from exposure from asbestos. Why just in the U.S. alone more than 100 thousand have died or will die being exposed while ship building. During World War II hundreds of thousands of tons of asbestos was used to cover pipes, turbine parts and line boilers.
Asbestos Fibers
Until more recent times asbestos had many uses in automobile manufacturing of brake shoes, clutch discs and some insulation also. By the mid 90s new and other materials like ceramic, metallic and Kevlar has been uses as a substitute for asbestos.
Some smokers may still remember the filtered Kent cigarette. The filter was made from crocidolite asbestos in what they called their (Micronite) filter. Corcidolite asbestos was used to make the filters from 1952 all the way through 1956.
With all the knowledge of the dangers of surrounding the asbestos industry nothing was done to inform the general public of the dangers. By the late 70s the information started to leak out via court documents stating the dangers were well known going back as far as the 30s. Somehow the U.S. had concealed the facts from the general public about all the dangers of asbestos.
By referring to the EPA Building Inspectors Manual for asbestos you can learn the serpentine minerals are the most commonly used form. Chrysotile, from the serpentine family of minerals has a layered structure and comes in sheets. 95% of the asbestos in buildings in the U.S.A. have this type of asbestos present in many of the materials used in their construction.
Chrysotile asbestos is found in a wide variety of construction materials, including:
Brake Pads & Shoes
Caulking
Clutch Plates
Dental Cast Linings
Drilling Fluid Additives
Drywall & Joint Compound
Filters
Fire Blankets
Fireproofing
Fireproof Clothing
Gaskets
HVAC Flexible Duct Connectors
Interior Fire Doors
Mud & Texture Coatings
Plaster
Popcorn Ceilings
Thermal Pipe Insulation
[...] and break down the fibers become tiny particles that spread through the air and are inhaled. The historical use of asbestos goes back 4500 years and in the late 1800s saw the opening of some of the first asbestos commercial [...]