What is Asbestos?

What is Asbestos?
You may ask, What is Asbestos?
Asbestos is a name given to a group of fibrous minerals that occur naturally in the environment as bundles of fibers that can be separated into thin, durable threads. These fibers are resistant to heat, fire, and chemicals and do not conduct electricity. For this reason, once widely used in many construction and materials industries. The high tensile strength and extreme resistance to heat and chemicals were highly sought in industrial projects, and asbestos provided that in many capacities.

Chemically, asbestos minerals are silicate compounds, meaning they contain atoms of silicon and oxygen in their molecular structure.

Asbestos minerals are divided into two major groups: Serpentine asbestos and amphibole asbestos. Serpentine asbestos includes the minerals chrysotile, which has long, curly fibers that can be woven. Chrysotile asbestos is the form that has been used most widely in commercial applications. Amphibole asbestos includes the minerals actinolite, tremolite, anthophyllite, crocidolite, and amosite. Amphibole asbestos has straight, needle-like fibers that are more brittle than those of serpentine asbestos and are more limited in their ability to be Fabricated.

In a previous study concluded that asbestos is carcinogenic, leading to the Environmental Protection Agency's ban of asbestos in 1989, though the government began regulating its use in the 1970s.