ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

History of Asbestos

Updated on April 7, 2011

Asbestos Hazard Today

Early days

There is evidence of the use of asbestos in various different countries over 30 centuries ago. During the Middle Ages its popularity waned and was only regained during the Industrial Revolution. It was then used mainly for the insulation of ovens, kilns, steam pipes, boilers and other products requiring insulation.

In the early 18th Century Italy established a textile manufacturing industry that used asbestos in the production of  string, fabrics and book covers.

In 1879 the very first commercial mine was opened in Canada in the town of Quebec. Not long after the Russians started mining asbestos and by the turn of the century South Africa and Australia had followed suit. The use of asbestos had expanded to include insulation, fireproof paint and wall materials. Although the textile industry in Italy still made use of asbestos they became a very small part of the total asbestos market.


Asbetsos Mining - The Beginning

Asbestos-cement corrugated roofing
Asbestos-cement corrugated roofing
Asbestos-cement pipes
Asbestos-cement pipes

The demand for asbestos grew steadily in the building industry during the early 1900’s. This was influenced firstly by the development of the Harschek machine in 1907. This was used for the manufacturing of both flat and corrugated panels using asbestos-cement. The second noteworthy influence was the development of a process which enabled the mass production of asbestos-cement pipes in 1929. These developments resulted in a marked increase in the demand and use for asbestos.

Gaskets for Automobiles
Gaskets for Automobiles
Country House Made with Asbestos Cement
Country House Made with Asbestos Cement

Asbestos - Spreading to Various Industries

Simultaneously the automobile industry introduced the use of asbestos in the manufacturing of gaskets, brakes and clutch components.

By 1910 the United States had become the leading user of asbestos consuming an estimated 43% of the 109,000 metric tons which was then being produced worldwide. The production had increased threefold in the first decade of the 19th century.

Although World War I and the Great Depression caused a slump in production of asbestos the 1930’s, the period following these events, saw an increase in both the production and uses of asbestos spreading to various other industries.

The inherent characteristics of asbestos made it suitable for so many diverse applications and it was soon to be used in fire-proof clothing for fire-fighters, reinforcement for both paint and asphalt road surfaces, flooring products such as under felts and vinyl asbestos tiles, thermal insulation for boiler systems for both residential homes and other buildings – and so asbestos made its way into our homes and our environment.

Asbestos in Older Homes

Asbestos at its Peak

During World War II Canada, South Africa and the United States increased production of asbestos to meet the United States’ growing demand. By 1942 the United States consumed 60% of world production of asbestos.

By 1958 asbestos was used in more than 3,000 applications which increased the demand for asbestos until its peak in 1977. By this time a total of 4.8Mt of asbestos was being produced in approximately 25 countries and being used in manufacturing processes in about 85 different countries.

Why Asbestos Was so Popular

The Downfall of Asbestos

During the 1970’s the use of asbestos declined in the United States following reports by Dr Seikoff and Lee in 1978 which proved conclusively that there was a correlation between lung cancer and asbestos exposure. Earlier reports of research conducted during the 1920’s and 1940’s had suggested an association between asbestos exposure and asbestosis but opposition to its use only really came to the fore after the later findings.

A shift away from asbestos followed as manufacturers sought asbestos substitutes due to an increase in lawsuits filed on behalf of people suffering from asbestos related diseases (ARD) such as Mesothelioma, Asbestosis and Asbestos related Lung Cancer.

By 2003 sixteen countries had imposed full or partial bans on the use of asbestos due to both health and liability factors.—Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Swit­zerland, and the United Kingdom

The Road Ahead for Asbestos

Asbestos - more in court and less in our homes
Asbestos - more in court and less in our homes
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)