History of Asbestos

Many people like learning more about the world that they live in. After all, it is a fascinating world and it can never hurt to learn more about it. Once you learn more about the world, you will be able to live a longer life. You will also be able to live a life that is much healthier. Something that everybody should know more about is asbestos. The reason that you should learn about the history of asbestos is because it can be a helpful product in some regards, but it can also be harmful. So, what is a history of asbestos?

When asbestos was first used

Asbestos was first used back during the time of the ancient Greeks. The reason that the ancient Greeks used asbestos was to make cleaning their cooking utensils easier. The reason that asbestos cooking utensils were easier to clean is because they were fire resistant and the fire just melted away all of the cooked on food. After the ancient Greeks started to use asbestos, then the Romans started to use it. It was said that many ancient Roman emperors used asbestos for their table cloths. Again, it was easier to clean the table cloths that were made out of asbestos since they could just throw them in the fire.

What was asbestos used for?

Persians also used asbestos for napkins and clothes. The main reason that they used asbestos is for the same reason that the Greeks and the Romans used asbestos: asbestos was easy to clean and they could put it in a fire to clean it. When Romans and Persians traveled to China, the Chinese quickly caught on to the idea of asbestos. In China, asbestos was used to make full outfits, since they would not catch on fire and they were easy to clean.

Modern day uses of asbestos

Eventually, asbestos caught on in the United States. Starting in about the seventeenth century, miners in the United States started extracting asbestos. Once asbestos reached the United States, there were many different uses for it. One main use for asbestos in the United States was for concrete and bricks. It was much harder for the bricks or the cement to catch on fire when asbestos was included.

Now that you know a history of asbestos, hopefully you realize why this product was so valuable for many years. It helped people not have to clean their napkins or their eating utensils. All they had to do was put them in a fire and they would be cleaned for them. This saved people a lot of time and it was much easier then having to use soap. Starting in the seventeenth century, asbestos was used in the United States for bricks and cement. When asbestos was implemented in bricks and cement, it was a lot harder for building to burn down. Unfortunately, it was discovered that asbestos can cause a very bad kind of lung cancer, called mesothelioma, which is why this mineral is not used in developed countries anymore. Luckily, developed countries have come up with other ways to make sure that things do not burn down, so it is not needed.