A Brief History of Asbestos
Asbestos is a Greek word meaning “inextinguishable” or “indestructible”. It is a natural mineral with extremely useful properties such as heat resistance, strong tensile strength, noise reduction and is a great insulator. Early evidence of its use dates back to 2400 BC, where asbestos has been found within pots and utensils used around Lake Juojärvi, Finland. During the Roman Empire asbestos was mined and used to strengthen pottery and it is believed that the Romans were the first to associate asbestos with health issues. Ancient Egyptians used asbestos in cloth to embalm Pharaohs to provide their remains with durable protection. Egyptologists discovered that asbestos was used to make the wicks of candles which were said to have burnt for hundreds of years. The Roman scholar Pliny the Younger (61-112 AD) wrote that those who mined and worked with asbestos became ill. It would be thousands of years later until asbestos was irrefutably linked to ill health.
Moving on to Charles the Great (747-814 AD), a medieval emperor (right), who used to perform a magic trick with tablecloths containing asbestos. He would throw them into a fire and when they refused to burn his audience was convinced of his magical powers. During the middle ages, asbestos became a weapon of sorts, used in bags which held flaming bags of pitch and tar that were catapulted over defensive walls to inflict injuries on those unlucky enough to be in the way of the missile. Around 1280 the explorer Marco Polo wrote that the clothing of Mongolians was “fabric that would not burn”. Polo visited a Chinese mine to disprove that asbestos was not the hair of a woolly lizard.
Peter the Great (Russian Tsar 1682-1725) presided over the mining of Chrysotile asbestos. In the Russian city of Asbest, the mineral has been mined since the 1800’s, with production still ongoing today (http://www.uralasbest.ru/) by Uralasbest. This company claim to produce 21% of the worlds Chrysotile mining 450 million tonnes per year.
Benjamin Franklin returned a fireproof purse to England in 1725 following a visit to Russia. Around the same time asbestos paper and bank notes were in use in Italy. The Parisian fire brigade wore jackets and helmets made from asbestos in the 1850’s. The use of the ‘miracle mineral’ was so widespread it is impossible to put a figure on those adversely affected by asbestos. Despite its many uses asbestos has been harming health for centuries and this accelerated during the Industrial Revolution.
With the advent of steam engines and mechanical power during the Industrial Revolution, an increase in the application of asbestos products occurred. The generation of power, particularly steam, required the management of heat. Asbestos quickly filled the void with it being mixed into products to lag pipes and cover boilers. With an increase in use came an upturn in respiratory issues but research was limited and a connection between the two remained elusive. Asbestos use became common place with it used during the First World War in gas masks and helmets. Blue (crocidolite) asbestos was used in the gas mask filters and Chrysotile (White) used in the Brodie helmets (right). This use continued into the Second World War. Following testing of equipment from both wars, the HSE advise “that all gas masks of any vintage as well as all Brodie helmets should be assumed to contain asbestos, and potentially other toxic or hazardous materials”.
The first recorded death attributed to asbestos was Nellie Kershaw (right) from Rochdale. She had worked for Turner Brothers Asbestos since 1903. In 1922 she became too ill to work. Nellie died in 1924. Her employers fought hard to repudiate liability, employing medical experts to contest the diagnosis. These tactics were used by other companies to avoid liability which no doubt extended the use of an extremely harmful material.
Following the World War 2, the rebuilding of Britain required a cheap and versatile product. Asbestos use increased with it being installed into millions of buildings as roofing materials, wall panels, ceilings, flooring, brake pads, flues, insulation. Lesser-known uses of the material are garden furniture, plant pots, clothing and cigarette filters.
Chris Wagner, a South African pathologist, found a direct link between asbestos and lung cancer in 1960. This find began to spell the beginning of the end for asbestos use in the UK. He wrote “Diffuse pleural mesothelioma and asbestos exposure in the North Western Cape province”. Following his death, the Telegraph wrote, “It would be difficult to over-emphasise the importance of this study, which was to become the most quoted paper in occupational medicine”.
During 1970 the ‘Asbestos Regulations 1969’ came into force followed by a voluntary ban on the importation of Crocidolite in the same year. In 1980 a voluntary ban on the importation of Amosite (Brown) asbestos came into force. 1983 saw the introduction of the ‘Asbestos (Licensing) Regulations’ with 1985 heralding the ‘Asbestos (Prohibitions) Regulations’ and with it a total ban on the importation of Amosite and Crocidolite. 1987 brought in the ‘Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations’ with the total ban of importation and use of all asbestos occurring in 1999. Several adaptations of the ‘Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations’ have occurred to leave it in its present form, the ‘Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012’.
Importance of Asbestos Surveys & Removal Services
Roughly 1.5 million buildings in the UK are estimated to contain asbestos, despite a total ban on its importation, supply and use in 1999. If your building was built before 1999, and you’re concerned about asbestos, it’s important that you contact us or at one of our three offices; Bristol (01174 031 620), Plymouth (01752 964 073) and Truro (01872 303 735). We can advise you how to deal with the asbestos in your building and how to move forward with asbestos management.
We are licensed by the Health and Safety Executive to carry out the safe removal of asbestos materials and our highly trained, customer focus team work in close cooperation with clients to ensure each project is delivered on time. Contact a member of our friendly team today for more information.