Facts About Asbestos
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- Created on Tuesday, 20 September 2011 14:27
- In the late 1800s and early 1900s, asbestos was used an ideal material in the construction industry. This was due to the effective fire retardant nature of asbestos, as well as its high electrical resistance, its high sound absorption, and its low cost.
- Accordingly, the word asbestos comes from is a Greek word, meaning "unquenchable" or "inextinguishable".
- Only much later, after the inception of this material, was it determined that asbestos is extremely hazardous when the fibers become airborne and are inhaled. Asbestos fibers are long and sharp and get easily lodged and/or embedded in the lungs and cannot be expelled.
- 60 countries have banned the use of asbestos, either wholly or partially.
- The use of asbestos is not completely illegal in the United States, although it is banned in most products and heavily regulated.
- Thousands of tons of asbestos were used in WWII ships to wrap pipes, line boilers, cover engines, etc.
- Asbestos used to be used in brake pads and clutch discs.
- In the mid 1950s, Kent's cigarettes used asbestos in its filters.
- 1906 was the first recorded death related to asbestos.
- Developing countries still use asbestos for in construction for the reasons mentioned above (i.e. fire retardant, low cost, etc)
- According to the RAND corporation (an R&D think tank), asbestos litigation is the longest, most expensive mass tort in U.S. history, involving more than 8,400 defendants and 730,000 claimants.
- Currently the most common type of insulation material was invented in 1938 – fiberglass insulation.
- In most developed countries, asbestos that has been removed from old buildings, ships, etc. in disposed of as hazardous waste in landfill sites.
- Asbestos can also be recycled by transforming it into silicate glass, a harmless product.
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