Asbestos History
Though the use of asbestos peaked in the 19th and 20th centuries, historians note that the fire-resistant mineral has indeed been used for centuries.
Its name taken from the Greek meaning "inextinguishable", asbestos has long been lauded as a miraculous mineral with qualities that could not be found elsewhere. Early Egyptians used it for burial cloth to wrap the dead and some civilizations used it for armor because of its well-known durability. It is said that the ancient Romans made use of it in their textiles, including tablecloths and napkins, cleaning these items by throwing them into the fire again and again, knowing they would come out spotless and virtually unscathed.
The Industrial Revolution and the Increase in Asbestos Use
While the coming of the Industrial Revolution represented progress in many fields, it also represented an increase in the use of asbestos, particularly in the factories that were popping up throughout the world. Also during this time, commercial mining of asbestos began and mines were quickly purchased by those hoping to become rich by selling the mineral to a variety of industries.
The railroad industry was the first to use large amounts of the mineral, mainly because the potential for fire was ever present in the new steam locomotives of the time. Asbestos was commonly used to line engines, cabooses, and refrigerator cars, and was also ideal as insulation for boilers, fireboxes, and pipes.
Shortly thereafter, the shipbuilding industry also recognized the advantages of asbestos and began its widespread use. It was typically found lining boilers or pipes and was also used as insulation in other parts of the ship. The use of asbestos became so rampant that, even today, shipbuilders have the highest rate of asbestos-related diseases among individuals who worked in industries that made widespread use of asbestos.
Asbestos in the Twentieth Century
After the turn of the century, the automobile industry discovered that it could also make good use of asbestos, particularly in products such as brakes and clutches, known as "friction" products. Asbestos was also used in brakes installed in the new commercial buildings of the twentieth century, including skyscrapers.
The building industry soon caught on as well and used asbestos to help keep homes and commercial structures safe from fires. Asbestos would soon be found in insulation, roof shingles, drywall, floor and ceiling tiles, gaskets, cement pipes, and many additional products.
Asbestos also became standard in many small household products, especially those that used electricity to operate, including irons, toasters, coffee pots, and hair dryers. Asbestos-containing vermiculite was included in a variety of gardening products, such as fertilizer and potting soil. In addition, because asbestos is often found in talc, products such as cosmetics, baby powder, and feminine hygiene products sometimes contained the dangerous mineral.
In the 1970s, the EPA issued warnings that put an end to most asbestos use, though the mineral has never been completely banned in the U.S. Some countries, like Canada and Russia, continue to mine and export chrysotile asbestos though the use of the other types of more-hazardous asbestos is virtually unheard of in the twentieth century.