Asbestos is used mainly as heat, sound and moisture insulation. It has been used for thousands of years. It was woven into cloth by ancient Egyptians, used in clay to allow it to be fired at the higher temperatures required to produce finer pottery and lined suits of armour. During the Industrial Revolution steam power required insulation to pipes and boilers and this was continuously in use until late last century. It was used as heat insulation lining to trains and aircraft. It was woven into fire fighters clothing and balaclavas used by racing car drivers. The actor Steve McQueen was an avid racing car driver who died of mesothelioma. The post war housing boom in Australia needed cheap, easy to erect building materials and asbestos cement sheet or ‘fibro’ was used extensively. There are thousands of products which contain asbestos – water pipes, sheet, roofing materials, electrical insulation, industrial adhesives, vinyl floor tiles, papers, cigarette filters, pipe lagging, brake linings, gaskets and many others. The mining, importing and manufacturing of asbestos products has been stopped in most developed countries for around 20 years, but chrysotile is still widely used in many developing countries.
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