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Asbestos (/ æ s ˈ b ɛ s t ə s, æ z-,-t ɒ s / ass-BES-təs, az-, -toss) [1] is a group of naturally occurring, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals.There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre (particulate with length substantially greater than width) [2] being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into ...
Asbestos can also be found mixed with cements and resins and woven into fabrics. Asbestos-containing mineral samples may be present in natural history collections. The safe management of asbestos is highly regulated in most countries, [1] [2] e.g. the UK Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. [3]
For example, the Greek word asbestos (meaning 'inextinguishable', or 'unquenchable'), for the unusual mineral known today containing fibrous structure. [5] The ancient historians Strabo (63 BC–19 AD) and Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) both wrote of asbestos, its qualities, and its origins, with the Hellenistic belief that it was of a type of ...
The EPA also announced Monday that it is evaluating legacy uses of asbestos and asbestos-containing talc, a super-soft mineral that is often mined alongside asbestos.
The most common asbestiform mineral is chrysotile, commonly called "white asbestos", a magnesium phyllosilicate part of the serpentine group. Other asbestiform minerals include riebeckite, an amphibole whose fibrous form is known as crocidolite or "blue asbestos", and brown asbestos, a cummingtonite-grunerite solid solution series.
Asbestos is a loose term for a group of six minerals that readily separate into needles or fibers. Easily inhaled, they are known to cause lung, ovarian and other types of cancer.
Asbestos, which was once common in home insulation and other products, is banned in more than 50 countries, and its use in the U.S. has been declining for decades.
Trace amounts can be found in talc, which often contains asbestos fibers of various types. [5] Studies into health risks associated with talc determined that with so many commercial varieties of talc being types of asbestine minerals, the resultant lung disease—talcosis, which can follow their prolonged inhalation, is usually a variety of asbestosis.