Asbestos is a mineral mined from the earth and has since been mined as early as the “Ancient Greece” period. It tends to naturally form into fibers which can be woven into threads and mixed with other materials for versatility in application. Amazingly, not only was it mined during the Ancient Greece era but was also used as insulation for log homes in Finland around more or less 3,000 years ago.

Industrial Revolution and Asbestos

With the advent of the industrial revolution the mining of this mineral sky rocketed and has been widely used during the 19th century. Asbestos was particularly popular among manufacturers due to its insulating property, tensile strength, heat resistance and chemical resistant quality. In particular, asbestos insulation showed promising results when it came to a cost effective way of insulating pipes, tires, boilers, ovens and other products in need of insulation.

The arrival of the steam locomotive

When steam locomotive was introduced there was a need for material that could handle high-temperatures. And so asbestos was used as its main insulating material. From the steam pipes to wheels almost everything that had an extreme fluctuating temperature was lined with asbestos. After several years however the trains switched to diesel power but still had to use asbestos insulation on its brakes and clutches.

World War II and Asbestos

During the time of World War II asbestos was used more than ever. Not only was it used on automobiles but it also on products and houses. On automobiles asbestos insulation was used on brakes and clutches. On ships, asbestos was used for insulating the parts that were exposed to a high degree of temperature. And in construction asbestos insulation was used on pipes, boiler rooms, insulating boards, and tiles. Asbestos was so highly used at this time that most houses would, 90 percent of the time, contain asbestos in one form or another.

The obvious can no longer be denied

With the coming of the new millennium the obvious fact that asbestos does cause cancer and other diseases can no longer be denied. That is why a lot of countries have now banned the use of asbestos. And that is a good thing since it has been classified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a carcinogenic (a substance that causes cancer)

Why did it take so long for them to take action?

In the past there may have been some evidence to point out that asbestos is deadly but due to the long development of a disease to form from the time of exposure then it was particularly hard to make a strong case against it. Also, since it was a popular mineral which a lot of capitalist could make money from, it became apparent that manufacturers would rather look the other way than stop the usage of asbestos. It was also quite hard to avoid being exposed to this substance since it also has a dust like property to it. Once these microscopic particles are airborne they can stay that way for a long time and inevitably get inhaled by an unsuspecting victim. For this reason, the alarming number of asbestos related cases in the 19th century was quite high.