Due to the prevalence of asbestos throughout the world, it is common to live in and around buildings and materials that contain asbestos, risking high level exposure to the deadly substance. But where does asbestos come from? Is it manufactured, grown, or otherwise harvested?
Time Frame
From times as early as the ancient Greek civilization, asbestos was a well known substance. In that early time, it was noted that those who worked frequently with asbestos developed lung damage as a result. The Persians believed that asbestos was the fur of a never before seen animal called samandar that lived in the midst of fire, thus giving the material its fire-resistant properties.
History
During the more recent industrial revolution, asbestos was widely used to make clothes, crayons, adhesives, tiles, brake pads and it often served as insulation in homes and office buildings. In the early 1900's, the often fatal health conditions related to asbestos were officially attributed to the substance, and the term "asbestosis" began to be used to describe the sicknesses that resulted from asbestos exposure.
Expert Insight
Asbestos is a naturally occurring substance which is obtained from the soil through open pit mining. Asbestos is mined as a rock-like ore. Though it comes in various types, colors and densities, it is easily identifiable through the mining process. Asbestos is still mined throughout many parts of the world in large, modernized open pit mines.
Types
Asbestos commonly comes in the form of chrysotile (white asbestos), amosite (brown asbestos) and crocidolite (blue asbestos), but the most common form of asbestos is chrysotile, which accounts for 90 to 95% of all asbestos in circulation. Of these types, chrysotile is the only kind of asbestos that is still in use today.
Theories/Speculation
Asbestos is thought to have begun as actual rock that was either changed through volcanic, physical, or chemical processes. According to this popular scientific view, asbestos forms in the ground when fibrous mineral silicates are exposed to great amounts of heat and bound together into a natural ore. Through these processes, the makeup of the rocks is changed into that of densely packed crystalline fibers.
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