Asbestos Information and Facts

What Is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral with several important characteristics. It is flexible, virtually indestructible, and fire resistant. These qualities make asbestos quite useful to manufacturers and builders. It is estimated that more than 3,000 products used in our society today contain asbestos. Below is a partial listing:

Building insulation  Pipe covering, insulation and cement  Boilers, furnaces and turbines  Roofing materials  Fire proofing and acoustical sprays  Wall and ceiling panels  Carpet underlays  Artificial fireplaces and materials  Refractory products  Cement board  Brake linings and clutch pressure plates  Patching and spackling compounds  Electrical wiring  Cement and cement piping  Textured paints  Floor tile, ceiling tile and linoleum  Pot holders and ironing boards  Toasters and other household appliances  Fireproof cloth

This photo from the 1950's shows dramatically how little society was aware of the dangers of exposure to asbestos. The father brought boxes home from work and gave them to his sons to use for scout activities, without any knowledge of the potential harm.

In addition to being flexible, durable and fire resistant, asbestos is cheap to mine. It is no wonder, then, that this mineral became so popular with manufacturers and builders. The first commercial asbestos mine opened in Canada in the 1870s. Since then, asbestos has been mined in Africa, Australia, Russia and the U.S.

The use of asbestos in insulation and other products became widespread after World War II. By some estimates, about 30 million tons of asbestos fibers have been used in the United States in the 20th century. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, there are asbestos-containing materials in most of the nation's approximately 107,000 primary and secondary schools and 733,000 public and commercial buildings.

Today in the U.S., the EPA's Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule restricts the importing or use of some asbestos products. However, millions of tons of asbestos remains embedded in our buildings and in many of the products we use every day. The September 11 terrorist attack against the World Trade Center in New York reportedly unleashed many tons of asbestos into the air, perhaps affecting the future health of thousands of people-and demonstrating just how vulnerable we remain.