My father was recently diagnosed with mesothelioma and I spent some time researching the cancer’s relation to Asbestos Exposure
I am sorry to hear about your father and it must be difficult to understand the use of this material from your current perspective.
It is true in the ancient world (Roman / Greek) asbestos was used and ancient writings told of the early deaths and breathing diseases of those who worked with or mined the material.
The first medical papers written proving the links to exposure to asbestos have mostly been within the last century, asbestosis was identified around 1900, asbestos lung cancers in the 1950s and mesothelioma in the 1960s. Mesothelioma was fist formally identified by medical papers written in the South African asbestos mines. Unfortunately most of this medical research was conducted and paid for by the asbestos mining and manufacturing companies. It is therefore likely that they did not want to make this information very public as it would have a detrimental effect on their businesses.
Despite its dangerous nature asbestos has been a very useful addition to many different products to enhance their performance. Its continued use (after the dangers were known) is partly due to the lack of technology to be able to make alternative products to do the same job. Even today there is not one product that can replace all the previous uses of asbestos.
Asbestos does not burn, it does not conduct electricity, it is resistant to acid and alkali, it has a high tensile strength and it has to be super heated to change its structure. All these properties made it a very useful product which was primarily of benefit to providing people with protection within buildings with regard to fires.
Hope this is helpful
2 Responses
Mark
2011 Sep 12 1Romans knew thousands of years ago that slaves working in asbestos mines died at an unusually young age, but it wasn’t until early in the 20th century that specific asbestos-related health effects were identified, and it was later still before the mineral was regulated in the United States. Though many countries have banned asbestos use due to health concerns, it is still in use in the U.S. Asbestos is fire-resistant, strong and flexible insulator, making it a useful material for construction.
References :
http://www.mesotheliomanews.com/asbestos/asbestos-a-historical-overview/
Joanna
2011 Sep 12 2I am sorry to hear about your father and it must be difficult to understand the use of this material from your current perspective.
It is true in the ancient world (Roman / Greek) asbestos was used and ancient writings told of the early deaths and breathing diseases of those who worked with or mined the material.
The first medical papers written proving the links to exposure to asbestos have mostly been within the last century, asbestosis was identified around 1900, asbestos lung cancers in the 1950s and mesothelioma in the 1960s. Mesothelioma was fist formally identified by medical papers written in the South African asbestos mines. Unfortunately most of this medical research was conducted and paid for by the asbestos mining and manufacturing companies. It is therefore likely that they did not want to make this information very public as it would have a detrimental effect on their businesses.
Despite its dangerous nature asbestos has been a very useful addition to many different products to enhance their performance. Its continued use (after the dangers were known) is partly due to the lack of technology to be able to make alternative products to do the same job. Even today there is not one product that can replace all the previous uses of asbestos.
Asbestos does not burn, it does not conduct electricity, it is resistant to acid and alkali, it has a high tensile strength and it has to be super heated to change its structure. All these properties made it a very useful product which was primarily of benefit to providing people with protection within buildings with regard to fires.
Hope this is helpful
References :
I have been an asbestos consultant for 8 years
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