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History of Asbestos

On this page:
» Modern Asbestos History
» New Uses for Asbestos
» 20th Century Asbestos Warnings
» Widespread Asbestos Exposure

Asbestos is a mineral that occurs naturally for which there are large deposits on every continent. Due to the recent focus of asbestos-related lung cancer, such as asbestosis and malignant mesothelioma, it is commonly thought that asbestos manufacturing and use is a modern phenomenon. But the usefulness of asbestos for insulation, as a fire retardant and for its tensile strength has been known for almost 6,000 years. As early as 4000 BC, it is documented that asbestos was used for candle and lamp wicks. The term "asbestos" was coined, meaning inextinguishable or unquenchable.

From 4000 BC to the early 1800s, asbestos was used for a wide variety of purposes, but mostly in small quantities. These uses included cloth, wicks and paper. Marco Polo visited an asbestos mine as early as the 13th century.

Modern Asbestos History

In the early 1800s, a number of patents started to appear for various uses of asbestos, including the first known United States patent for asbestos insulating material. This material was used to insulate steam engines being used to spearhead the transportation and manufacturing industries during the industrial revolution. Also in the early 1800s asbestos was first discovered in Canada (the Thedford mines of Quebec) and in South Africa (the Woolstone mines of Orange). By the 1860s asbestos became an industry, with the Italian asbestos industry based on tremolite and the Canadian and Russian industries based on chrysotile. The American industry got its start about 1880, but at that time the industry was based on the use of Italian asbestos to produce paper and board products.

New Uses for Asbestos

An explosion of new uses rapidly emerged, with the first asbestos brake linings being manufactured in England in 1896 and with the first patent in Germany for the manu