What Has Asbestos in It?
It is a loaded question to unpack everything that has asbestos in it. Asbestos has a massive history of use across continents, cultures, and industries. Some have termed asbestos the “miracle mineral” and after looking at the history of asbestos use throughout the centuries, it will be easy to see why. However, this tour through time will also show just how dangerous asbestos exposure can be, in terms of its widespread use. Here’s a deep dive into the widespread use of asbestos, where to find it, and why it was banned in many countries in the last century.
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If you may have been exposed to asbestos, speak with your healthcare provider about tests and screening to help detect the presence of asbestos fibers and asbestos-related diseases.
Geological Formation of Asbestos
To start with, one of the most important things to know about asbestos is that it is not a byproduct. While our familiarity with asbestos is almost entirely related to the byproducts that come from it, you might be surprised to know that asbestos, properly speaking, is a naturally occurring mineral. In fact, six different kinds of asbestos minerals can be found in nature: chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, anthophyllite, tremolite, and actinolite. Chrysotile, the most popular and widespread asbestos of the six, is known as the serpentine family of asbestos, while the other five minerals make up the amphibole family. It’s hard to overstate the widespread use of serpentine asbestos. In fact, the serpentine rock is still, to this date, the state rock of California. Because of this, despite it being banned, it’s accurate to simply say that asbestos is the official rock of California!
While the health effects of asbestos exposure will be covered later, it’s important to note that of the six types of asbestos, the blue-colored crocidolite is known to be the most carcinogenic of all.
It is believed that the formation of asbestos took place in the heating and cooling of the earth’s crust over a long period of time. The rapid cooling caused the fissuring and stranding process in rock formations that accounts for the natural occurrence of asbestos as we can see it today. In fact, if you walked up to an asbestos rock formation, you would see that the strands of asbestos literally look like veins running through the rock, similar to an aerial view of rivers running through landmasses. Surprisingly, these asbestos “veins” can be pulled out in strands with our bare hands!
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Asbestos in the Ancient World
By far, the most well-known use of asbestos in the ancient world was its use in pottery and stone artifacts. Because of the reinforcement characteristics of asbestos fibers and the brittle nature of clay pottery, asbestos fibers could be used to strengthen, weatherproof, and fireproof these items. Think of the way rebar is used to reinforce concrete- the same concept applies to the fine strands of asbestos fibers that are woven and mixed in with the clay during pottery formation. The fact that we continue to discover remnants of these materials today says a lot about just how well asbestos has sustained them over the centuries.
Living Linen
Pliny the Elder, an ancient Roman noted for publishing the first encyclopedia “Naturalis Historia”, described the ancient uses of asbestos in clothing, calling it “living linen” with remarkable properties. In fact, the asbestos cloth was used for things like cremation shrouds, napkins, oil lamps, and even for sound absorption, such as wrapping a tree with an asbestos cloth to dampen the sound of an axe chopping it down. This anticipated the use of asbestos in acoustic treatment, which became highly popular.
Buddha Cloth
Besides the Ancient Romans, the Ancient Chinese culture also used asbestos for things such as fireproofing material for roofing. The material is known to have been given the nickname “Buddha Cloth” to speak to its perceived divine properties.
Asbestos in the Medieval World
While the use of asbestos was well documented in the ancient world, it seems that the predecessors of the ancient world were not as aware of asbestos. In fact, the idea of a miracle mineral was attributed to a mythological story. It seems that this perception was eventually dispelled by Marco Polo, who wrote about the fact that the mythical creature known as the salamander was actually a description of beasts with fire-proof wool, which we know as asbestos. Regardless, the widespread use of asbestos was either undocumented or underrealized up until the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.
Asbestos in the Industrial Revolution (Modern Era)
When the Industrial Revolution was off and running throughout the world, asbestos was at the forefront of technology. For one, new industrial processes including the use of pipes servicing meant that high pressure and high temperatures were being generated in order to service all kinds of new industrial processes. However, it was not safe or reasonable to be able to service these pipes or protect them without finding a way to shield or insulate them. This is where asbestos truly began to function as one of the most crucial pieces of technology: weatherproofing/insulating pipes.
Asbestos could be wrapped around pipes, easily removed during maintenance, and reused as needed. Best of all, its properties meant that it could last for a long time, despite the temperatures and pressure it was exposed to. This could be seen in the industrial buildings as well as both military vessels.
Of course, the Industrial Revolution saw the rise of the largest asbestos-manufacturing company in the world: Johns-Manville. Founded in 1859, this company produced roof shingles, brake linings, cement and piping material, insulation, and adhesives, just to name a few. While asbestos could be discovered and mined from various parts of the world, the discovery of asbestos in Canada made up a significant supply of the asbestos used during the Industrial Revolution. In fact, there is a town in Quebec Canada called Asbestos, named after its previous history as the largest asbestos mining site in the world.
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While this brief survey of asbestos use over the centuries has not been an exhaustive look at all the uses of asbestos, it shows how asbestos has been used throughout the world for millennia. Taking that into account, it’s important to know that, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, “most uses of asbestos are not banned”. While asbestos was partially banned in the United States in 1989 there are still some allowable uses of asbestos. This does not even include the presence of asbestos from any buildings or homes that contain asbestos prior to the EPA ban. According to Asbestos Nation, 55 countries worldwide have banned asbestos, but countries including China, Russia, India, Canada and the United States have not. In fact, Russia currently has the largest asbestos mining operation in the world.
Asbestos-Containing Materials (ACM)
Across numerous continents, some materials to be aware of that did contain asbestos include plaster, sealants, shingles, drywall, pipes, cement, and ducts. In the automotive industry, virtually any older vehicle could pose the risk of asbestos, both commercial and personal, civilian and military. In many cases, what makes these materials pose a high health risk is when they are exposed or damaged, such as during natural disaster events or renovation projects.
Besides construction, asbestos was widely used in manufacturing. Because of this, people should be especially aware of asbestos exposure when antiquing or purchasing old manufactured products. Surprisingly, even Kerr’s Dental Company used to produce asbestos-containing dental products. While these are no longer made or available in the industry, they can be found on sites like eBay- which could represent a risk of asbestos exposure for anyone who comes into contact with them.
Knowledge is Power
The more we are aware of the widespread use of asbestos in the past, the better equipped we can be to avoid the existing presence of asbestos from those previous generations. However, we should also use this knowledge as a way to identify the possibility of symptoms we may be experiencing, related to asbestos exposure. If you believe you have been exposed to asbestos, or you have developed an asbestos-related disease, you may be entitled to financial compensation. If you need help navigating through this process, reach out to the professionals at AsbestosClaims.law today. They will walk you through the entire process!
AsbestosClaims.Law
For Justinian C. Lane, getting compensation for asbestos victims is personal.
Justinian’s grandparents and his father all worked with asbestos in their younger years and died from asbestos-related cancers in their later years.
At the time of each of their deaths, no one in Justinian’s family knew that they were eligible to file an asbestos lawsuit and to seek compensation from the asbestos trusts.
Because no one in Justinian’s family knew their options, they never received any compensation for the death of their loved ones.
If you believe that you or your family member’s injury was related to asbestos exposure, you could be entitled to significant compensation.
This is money you could use to cover the costs of asbestos removal services, pay for medical treatment, and preemptively protect your physical well-being.
There are also asbestos trusts that offer compensation much more quickly and easily (without filing a lawsuit.)
If you’d like help with filing a claim, please get in touch by email at [email protected], or call or text us at (833) 4-ASBESTOS (427-2378) or (206) 455-9190. We’ll listen to your story and explain your options. And we never charge for anything unless you receive money in your pocket.
In addition to legal claims, veterans disability, social security and employment protection like workers compensation, FELA and The Jones Act for maritime workers, there are asbestos trusts that have been set up to compensate those harmed by asbestos without having to file a lawsuit.
There is no risk or cost to speak with one of our staff about your asbestos litigation. There are no fees unless you receive money.
If you have any additional questions or concerns related to asbestos, check out our website and YouTube page for videos, infographics and answers to your questions about asbestos, including health and safety, asbestos testing, removing asbestos from your home and building, and legal information about compensation for asbestos injuries.
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W.A.R.D., which stands for the Worldwide Asbestos Research Database, helps clients to narrow down when and where they may have been exposed, as well as which products may still contain asbestos. W.A.R.D. will also help indicate compensation types and how much a person may be entitled to.