The material known as asbestos goes back some 3,000 years. The Greeks called asbestos “inextinguishable” because it was a great retardant against fire and heat. In Rome and Egypt, asbestos was put into elaborate garments and worn by the privileged.
The resistant to heat and fire qualities are among some reasons as to why asbestos was used by the modern industrial world. Asbestos was a great use for the auto industry, construction and the shipping industry.
Asbestos Commercialized in Canada
Asbestos became commercialized in Quebec, Canada before other places. And when it finally arrived into the United States of America, it did so as a heating insulator. The asbestos material was placed inside of concrete bricks, acid-resistant gaskets and was used as ceiling insulation in many buildings. And even though it was used in practically everything when it came to insulation, the health risks involving asbestos was either ignored or never fully explored due to proponents of commercialization.
France Knew About Asbestos
In France, asbestos was taken rather seriously as a silent killer while these things went ignored in other nations. Take for example, the United States of America, one of the great centers for creation and ideas did not fully look into deaths associated with the wonder material known as asbestos due to its durability. The United States was busy building itself and making new industries.
The Lawsuits Against Asbestos
The American industrial industry, in the next few decades, would be faced with lawsuits due to the unhealthy nature of asbestos. Furthermore, the first known U.S worker’s compensation claim for asbestos disease was recorded in 1927. That would be followed by other lawsuits targeting asbestos producers which came about in 1929. Then in 1930, a medical landmark case known as an asbestosis autopsy was conducted in the United States. It was presented thereafter by a doctor from the famed Mayo Clinic. But his case dealt with South American miners who were exposed to asbestos and not Americans.
The Deadly Asbestosis
Asbestosis is known as a lung disease first found in workers dealing with textile. It is a scaring of the lung tissue from an acid produced by the human body in its attempts to break up the fibers. The scarring has been known to become extremely severe that forces the lungs to total uselessness. The latency period for asbestosis was recorded to be between 10-20 years.
When it became widely known that asbestos was indeed a silent killer, many American industries which used asbestos stopped using it. Subsequently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would deal with the asbestos substance. Let it be known that the EPA has no wide-ranging ban on asbestos, however, it became one of the first hazardous air pollutants to befall regulation under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act of 1970. Furthermore, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) went on to forbid the usage of asbestos.
Marquis Canaday - I take pleasure in writing about subjects that deal with civilizations in general, world history, U.S history, economics, occasionally ...
