Facts about Asbestos

November 12, 2009 by admin
Filed under Asbestos Cancer

Asbestos entered into the market during 1700 and from that it is still being used in many industries. But this gained more popularity after the Industrial Revolution. After that it is used in manufacturing of many products such as steel pipes, steam pipes, hand held hair dryers where the main purpose of this asbestos is to prevent over heating, and in several household products.

This Asbestos comprises of six naturally occurring minerals that are incombustible at the same time that can be separable into filaments. The six naturally occurring minerals are chrysolite, amosite, crocidolite, anthophyllite, termolite and actinolite. In these the first three minerals are mostly commonly used in manufacturing products and in many industries.

Its versatility also makes it popular in the world. That includes resistance to electricity, fire resistance, and chemical resistance. Other than this it is very tensile in nature. Because of all these it is used in many industries and in manufacturing of many products.

Other than its various uses this has some disadvantages. It is very hazardous in nature because it causes one kind of cancer to people exposing to asbestos for long time. This is known as Mesothelioma Cancer which affects the lungs and heart cavity of the human working in asbestos plant as they have more exposure to it. This is a deadliest cancer affecting human but it is seen very rarely among people as it takes nearly 25 to 50 years to develop after exposure.