Asbestos is the name for a group of naturally occurring silicate minerals that can be separated into fibers. The fibers are strong, durable, and resistant to heat and fire. They are also long, thin and flexible, so that they can even be woven into cloth.
Because of these qualities, asbestos has been used in thousands of consumer, building, maritime, industrial, automotive, and scientific products around the world. During the twentieth century, some 30 million tons of asbestos were used in industrial sites, homes, schools, shipyards and commercial buildings in the United States.
While asbestos has been used for centuries because of it fire-retardant capabilities, the identification of airborne asbestos fibers as the only known cause of the deadly cancer mesothelioma and other forms of cancer and lung disease is more recent. For several decades now, asbestos has been the subject of litigation by victims who were not informed of the danger of asbestos exposure by employers and others who did know their use of asbestos put people at risk.
Asbestos History
The name asbestos comes from the Greek âσβεστο. It roughly translates as unquenchable or inextinguishable. It has been used to categorize six naturally occurring silicate minerals. These all have in common what is known as their asbestiform habit—long, thin, fibrous crystals recognized for their:
- Ability to absorb sound
- Tensile strength
- Long life
- Resistance to heat, electrical and chemical damage
The first attributed use of asbestos dates back 4,500 years to Finnish potters using asbestos to reinforce their earthenware. The ancient Greeks, and then the Romans, saw asbestos as almost as valuable as gold because of its resistance to fire, and began using asbestos in building materials.
As the industrial revolution emerged, asbestos’ properties became increasingly popular with manufacturers and builders in the late 19th century. And, asbestos ultimately became prevalent in a multitude of products ranging from ovens to home insulation to transportation vehicle brake linings and clothing.
While the utility of asbestos was well understood, the problems associated with long exposure to airborne asbestos fibers did not become a major health concern until the mid-20th century, even though:
- Asbestos is highly friable. It readily crumbles into almost invisible fibers that are easily airborne and inhaled.
- Pliny the Elder, an ancient Roman naturalist, historian and doctor, wrote about the “sickness of the lung” in slaves who had performed work in asbestos mines. In fact, he encouraged people buying slaves to avoid those who had worked in asbestos mines because they were more likely to die early.
- By the early 1900s doctors were expressing concerns after performing autopsies on people whose occupations involved significant exposure to asbestos.
Unfortunately, the commercial value of asbestos products led asbestos miners and vendors of asbestos-reliant products to cover up and/or ignore the scientific evidence directly linking asbestos exposure to serious health problems including lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma. They failed to provide appropriate warnings to workers and customers.
This failure resulted in lawsuits. The first lawsuit in the modern era was filed in 1966. They continue today because asbestos remains a problem:
- Asbestos-caused illnesses can take decades to develop; so many more people exposed in the past may eventually become ill.
- Sites with dangerous levels of asbestos continue to be identified, and are a continuing health hazard
What you need to know
Early detection and treatment of mesothelioma and other asbestos illnesses is the best way to increase your survival chances. Knowing the facts about asbestos and how exposure to it can have serious and often fatal consequences is important.