What is Asbestos-mrhfmlaw

 

What is asbestos

Asbestos, which means indelible, was named by the ancient Greeks who recognized the refractory properties of asbestos, as well as its harmful effects on asbestos workers. Mesothelioma is caused by inhaling or swallowing asbestos fibers.

Made up of silicon, oxygen, hydrogen and various metals, asbestos is the generic name for six naturally occurring minerals. These asbestos minerals can be divided into two basic groups, amphibole and serpentine, based on their physical properties. Amphibole asbestos has a chain-like structure and serpentine asbestos develops in layer form. The three most common types of fibers are amosite (brown or gray asbestos), chrysotile (white asbestos), and crocidolite (riebeckite).

Amosite asbestos, a member of the amphibole asbestos family, is made up of straight fibers that contain iron and magnesium. Chrysotile asbestos, a member of the serpentine group, is a white curly fiber and a magnesium silicate. Chrysotile asbestos makes up 90% of the asbestos used in products. Crocidolite asbestos, a member of the amphibole group, is in the shape of straight, blue fibers and is made of sodium iron magnesium silicate. The other types of asbestos are anthophyllite, tremolite and actinolite and all belong to the amphibole group. Anthophyllite can range in color from brown to gray to white. It is a magnesium iron silicate hydroxide and is often associated with talc and other minerals. Tremolite is white to gray-green and is a calcium, magnesium and iron silicate. Tremolite can be found in different types of slate. A shale is a metamorphic rock that is usually named for the mineral from which they are formed. Hornblende slate, garnet mica slate, bitotite mica slate, and talc slate are some examples. Actinolite presents itself as dark green crystals or fibrous aggregates. Actinolite has a similar chemical formula to Tremolite, but contains more iron than Tremolite in relation to magnesium.

Fiber bundles that easily separate into long, thick fibers are the most commonly recognized type of asbestos. This property was first recognized in ancient times and used for eternal wicks. Pliny the Elder published the first encyclopedia, Natural History, in 77, in which he wrote: "Asbestos looks like alum and is completely refractory; it also resists all potions, especially those invented by the magicians." Both Pliny and the ancient Greek geographer Strabos observed a "lung disease" in the slaves who woven asbestos into cloth.