Medical Symptoms and Facts

Asbestos is a group of minerals that are found naturally in the environment and resemble bundles of fibers. These fibers are resistant to heat, fire and chemicals and can be separated into thin but durable threads. Because of these properties and the fact that asbestos is non conductive to electricity, it was a popular material and widely used among many different industries. Chrysotile asbestos, which ca be identified by its curly fibers, is the form of asbestos that has been most commonly used in commercial industries.

Asbestos has been used worldwide in many industries beginning in the late 1800’s. Asbestos has been used by construction companies to strengthen concrete and also as insulation for homes. Ships used to use asbestos to insulate boilers and water pipes and asbestos has even been used by the automotive industry in brake shoes and clutch pads.

The uses of asbestos, however, have been severely limited and in some cases banned since the 1970’s. In 1989 the environmental protection agency banned any new uses of asbestos although previously established uses for asbestos were still allowed. Recent laws have since banned the use of asbestos for nearly all of its uses and require existing sources of asbestos to be removed or contained due to asbestos particles being released into the environment.