asbestos
asbestos Strictly, the fibrous variety of the mineral actinolite, but more generally any of a number of fibrous minerals that can be spun into yarn and have been mined commercially. Crocidolite (blue asbestos) is the fibrous variety of riebeckite, amosite of anthophyllite, and chrysotile of serpentine. Amosite, the most abundant form of asbestos, was widely used for insulation, construction, and in brake linings; crocidolite was used where resistance to acids was required. The inhalation of asbestos fibres over a prolonged period can cause the respiratory illness asbestosis in humans and it has also been reported in baboons and rodents living in the vicinity of asbestos mines. In the 1960s a correlation was found between the inhalation of crocidolite fibres and the incidence of mesothelioma (a form of lung cancer) and its use was restricted. Later, exposure to airborne fibres from other varieties of asbestos was also linked to lung cancer, and the use of all forms of asbestos is now forbidden or severely restricted in most countries.
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