Asbestos is set of six naturally occurring silicate material having unique properties such as high strength, sound absorbent, resistance against fire and heat. Because of these desirable properties asbestos has been used commercially especially in industries such as construction, maritime, automotive etc. since long. The names of these six minerals which constitute asbestos are:
Till a few decades ago, asbestos was integral part of a construction industry. Asbestos was widely used in building houses and offices and industrial complexes (and is still is in many countries). Asbestos ones considered to be a very useful mineral has now become a serious danger to life of people across the world as its exposure is associated with fatal diseases such as asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. To decrease the risks of health hazards caused by asbestos, today in most of the developed countries the use of asbestos is either banned or is restricted to only a few products. While by these regulations, asbestos penetration has decreased but what about houses, products, building which had asbestos and still in use? How do you tackle it? It is important to understand why asbestos is harmful before discussing how to tackle it.
Asbestos is set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals. The names of six materials are, Amosite, Chrysotile, Tremolite, Actinolite, Anthophyllite and Crocidolite. Because of its properties such as heat resistance, strength and flexibility asbestos was used in various industries such as construction, automobile, garments, maritime, etc. Gradually harmful effects of asbestos fibres to humans came into picture and its role in disease such as lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma became clear. When these harmful effects of asbestos became clear, asbestos was banned from many countries (more than 50 as of now) and many other restricted their usage to only a few products (USA for example allows asbestos usage in automobile brake lining etc.).