Asbestos
Asbestos in
the common market, known mainly used for the roof of the house of the raw
materials, raw materials for brake tools and fire-resistant. Wikipedia mentioned
that asbestos is a naturally occurring silicate
mineral with long, thin
fibrous crystals. The word asbestos (ἄσβεστος)
is a borrowed Greek adjective meaning inextinguishable.
The Greeks
termed asbestos the miracle mineral because of its soft and pliant
properties, as well as its ability to withstand heat.
The size of
an asbestos fiber is very small and subtle. Therefore, it is easy to fly in the
air. Asbestos fibers have a diameter less than 3 um and length of at least
three times the length of diameter. There
are six minerals are defined as "asbestos" including: chrysotile, amosite,
crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite and actinolite.
At this time, we know that asbestos is toxic and very dangerous. The inhalation
of asbestos fibers can cause serious illnesses, including malignant mesothelioma,
lung cancer, and asbestosis (a type of pneumoconiosis).
We have
heard the use of asbestos as a building material has a lot of sacrifice. In
Japan, 500 people died (1995) because breathe in the air due to the contaminant
of asbestos. This number increased to 878 people in 2003. Until that time, the
Japanese government prohibits all forms of building with the use of raw materials
asbestos. At the middle 1980, most developed countries and the European Union
have banned asbestos, and some other countries began to following this, such as
the United States, Sweden, Iceland and many other countries.