The History of Asbestos
How long has Asbestos been in use?
- Asbestos has been in use forever, or at least as close to that as to make no difference!
- ‘Asbestos’ is from the Ancient Greek and means ‘indestructible’
- Written documentation about asbestos goes back to the Romans
- The Egyptians embalmed Pharaohs with asbestos
- Medieval knights used asbestos to insulate their armour
- Merchants sold chips of anthophyllite asbestos as part of the ‘One True Cross of Christ’. As you can see from the photo, anthophyllite looks a lot like wood. They would prove that it was part of the one true cross by throwing the wood chip on a fire and showing that it would not burn because of Christ’s divine influence.
- Modern commercial mining began in Canada in 1870
- Since the Industrial Revolution asbestos has been used in 3000+ products
When did people recognise that asbestos was dangerous?
- The Romans Recognised asbestos was a health hazard; slaves who had worked in asbestos mines did not fetch a good price.
- In 1897 an Viennese doctor diagnosed a patient’s ill health was due to exposure to asbestos.
- In 1906 a British doctor gave asbestos as the cause of death.
- In 1908 insurance companies put up premiums on asbestos workers!
And what happened after it was recognised asbestos was dangerous?
- During WW1, asbestos was used in gas mask filters.
- It was being readily advertised during the ’40’s, ’50’s and ’60’s
- In the 1950s in the USA, blue asbestos was used in cigarette filters
- Import and use of asbestos was still growing in the 1970s
- White asbestos was banned from import and use in 1999