ABSTRACT
Asbestos is conventionally divided into two broad groups (Table 1.1)2: (i) the serpentine group that contains only a single member, namely, chrysotile, the name of which is derived from the Greek for gold (chrysos) and “ber (tilos); and (ii) the amphiboles, which include crocidolite, amosite, and the (usually) noncommercial amphiboles, namely, tremolite, actinolite, and anthophyllite (the last of these being mined at the Paakkila mine in Finland until it was closed and at a few other sites). The serpentine chrysotile is characterized by curly “bers that tend to matt together, whereas the amphiboles are characterized by straight needle-like “bers with a capacity for longitudinal splitting.2-4
CONTENTS
1.1 What Is Asbestos? .....................................................................................................................1 1.2 Preindustrial History of Asbestos .............................................................................................2 1.3 Asbestos from the Beginning of the Industrial Era ..................................................................3 1.4 Evolution of Knowledge Concerning Asbestos-Related Diseases............................................8
