Find more facts and information on our topic page about
asbestos
asbestos
asbestos Fibrous varieties of
amphibole and
serpentine, including chrysotile (fibrous serpentine),
actinolite (asbestos proper), amosite (a variety of
anthophyllite), and crocidolite (blue asbestos; a variety of
riebeckite). Ancient civilizations referred to asbestos cloth as
amianthus (from the Greek word meaning ‘
undefiled’), because it could be cleaned by throwing it into a fire and all varieties of asbestos have great heat-resistant properties; varieties with fibres long enough to be spun and woven are used commercially for heat-resistant cements, cladding, and insulation material, and for asbestos corrugated sheets. However, many of its uses, particularly as brake pads for cars and as pipe and ceiling insulation materials, have been banned, because the inhalation of asbestos dust (small, airborne, needle-like fibres) can cause serious lung diseases (e.g. asbestosis) and contribute to pneumoconiosis. Health concerns have led to a world-wide reduction in asbestos production to below 3 million tonnes annually.
Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.
|
Asbestos raises coverage questions. (Risk Management Review)
Magazine article from: National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management; 4/10/1989; ; 700+ words
; Asbestos Raises Coverage Questions Asbestos--the miracle fiber of the 1940s and 1950s--has become...forced to face up to the consequences associated with "the asbestos problem." First, in the early 1970s, came a ban on almost...
|
|
Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization Releases Findings that Reveal Evidence of Asbestos in Everyday Products.
Business Wire; 11/28/2007; 700+ words
; Products Containing Asbestos Include Children's Toys, Appliances...amp; Garden Items WASHINGTON -- The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO...dedicated to serving as the voice of asbestos victims, today unveiled research showing...
|
|
The asbestos dilemma.
Magazine article from: U.S. News & World Report; 1/14/1991; ; 700+ words
; ...her that he had ripped out a pile of asbestos pipe insulation. Pregnant, mother...the woman was stunned to learn of asbestos in her basement. She also knew it was unsafe and illegal to remove asbestos, which can cause cancer, without...
|
 "Albany Times Union (Albany, NY)")
|
ASBESTOS UNDER YOUR NOSE INNOCENT-LOOKING PIPE INSULATION AND ROOF SHINGLES IN YOUR HOME MAY HIDE A DANGEROUS SURPRISE. AND IT'S TOUGH TO GET RID OF.(Living)
Newspaper article from: Albany Times Union (Albany, NY); 10/9/1992; 700+ words
; Byline: RICK KARLIN Staff writer Asbestos, a mineral once used as insulation, pipe-wrapping...accounts of industrial workers who have suffered from asbestos exposure and of the massive asbestos removal programs in schools and public buildings...
|
|
Asbestos // Living with the legacy of asbestos
Newspaper article from: Chicago Sun-Times; 2/8/1998; ; 700+ words
; Two local asbestos scares in less than a week have put the spotlight on the dangers...material. The history The ancient Greeks first discovered that asbestos was fireproof. Asbestos cloth was used by the Egyptians to prepare bodies for burial...
|
|
|
ASBESTOS RISK INFLATED, LATEST STUDY CONCLUDES.(Main)
Newspaper article from: Albany Times Union (Albany, NY); 1/19/1990; 700+ words
; ...Rebecca Kolberg United Press International Asbestos found in schools and other public buildings...little risk for lung disease, and "asbestos panic" may be leading to costly and...medical experts concluded, "Chrysotile asbestos, the type of fiber found predominantly...
|
|
ASBESTOS LITIGATION:PATRICK LEAHY
Transcript from: Congressional Testimony; 9/25/2002; 700+ words
; ...from experts, representing all sides in asbestos litigation, to get a better understanding of how asbestos victims, defendants and others fare in...providing fair and efficient compensation to asbestos victims. We must begin by acknowledging...
|
|
|
Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization Announces ADAO's Coalition for Asbestos Awareness; Coalition Honors Passing of Warren Zevon.
Business Wire; 9/7/2004; 700+ words
; WASHINGTON -- The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), an organization dedicated to serving as the voice of asbestos victims, today launched the ADAO Coalition for Asbestos Awareness, in honor of the anniversary of the...
|
|
Asbestos Exposures to Cost U.S. Insurers $200 Billion.
Newspaper article from: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News; 6/13/2001; 700+ words
; ...Tribune Business News Jun. 13--Asbestos has overtaken environmental liabilities...Settlements to individuals exposed to asbestos in the United States and related expenses...percent of the costs will fall on the asbestos defendants, such as manufacturers and...
|
|
|
ASBESTOS IN THE WORKPLACE:RICHARD WILSON
Transcript from: Congressional Testimony; 3/1/2007; 700+ words
; ...here. I was immediately concerned about asbestos. It worried me that the industry and...concerned that measurements of airborne asbestos concentrations were often taken in a...limits were reduced a hundred fold and asbestos was removed from hundreds of locations...
|
|
Asbestos
Book article from: Pollution A to Z
Asbestos Asbestos is a mineral rock with a chemical composition of mostly silicon, water, and magnesium. Most asbestos fibers are long, thin, strong, flexible, fireproof, and resistant...
|
|
asbestos
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
asbestos common name for any of a variety of silicate minerals...more or less resistant to acid and fire. Chrysotile asbestos, a form of serpentine , is the chief commercial asbestos. Varieties of amphibole asbestos are amosite, used...
|
|
SIC 3292 Asbestos Products
Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of American Industries
SIC 3292 ASBESTOS PRODUCTS This category includes companies that primarily make asbestos textiles, asbestos building materials (except asbestos paper), insulating materials for covering boilers and pipes, and other products composed wholly...
|
|
Manville Corporation
Book article from: International Directory of Company Histories
...mid-1980s, Manville mined and sold asbestos for use in insulation, building, aerospace...history is inextricably intertwined with asbestos. The company has divested itself of its interests in all asbestos-related businesses, and is enmeshed...
|
|
Occupational Exposures and Cancer
Encyclopedia entry from: Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer
...lung cancer than if they lived with a non-smoker. Asbestos is a known carcinogen. Individuals whose work exposes them to asbestos are seven times more likely to die from lung cancer. Asbestos workers who smoke are 50-90 times more likely to...
|
