ABSTRACT
Asbestos was discovered in the Ural Mountains of Russia in the early part of the eighteenth century and later in Italy in the early part of the nineteenth century. Various forms of asbestos have been used since the antiquities. Small amounts of asbestos were used to make cremation cloths and both the Chinese and Egyptians wove asbestos into mats. Asbestos cement roofing was used in Europe beginning in 1896 and asbestos cement pipes were first manufactured in Italy in 1913. Most of the asbestos that was used in the United States was white asbestos or chrysotile. Since the mid-1960s, more information has been obtained on the adverse health effects from asbestosis, and in 1968, the British Occupational Hygiene Society published hygienic standards for chrysotile asbestos dust. The heavy industrial exposures occurred in the period of 1930–1970, largely due to shipyard exposures, since existing safety regulations focused upon asbestos miners, millers, and asbestos product manufactures, not end-users of asbestos products.
