The Amazing Mineral That Would Not Burn: The Story of Asbestos

According to legend, Charlemagne would amaze his dinner guests with a stunt where he would toss a tablecloth that had stains on it into the fire, then pull it back out spotless. The cloth was woven from asbestos, and the trick worked every time. Image - courtesy of Pexels.

The Ancient World Believed Asbestos Was Magic

The ancient Greeks called the material ‘asbestos’, which translates to ‘unquenchable’. Many medieval European people thought that the material was the hair of a salamander. When Marco Polo visited mines in China, he was able to put an end to the mystery when he discovered that the ‘salamander hair’ was really just rock fibers.

The Roman Empire used it for wrapping around lamp wicks and for wrapping the bodies of the rich before cremating them. In doing so, the ashes remained separate from those of the pyre. Pliny the Elder also wrote that the workers who made clothing from the material contracted some sort of illness. Unfortunately, there was no response from anyone regarding the issue.

The Industrial Gold Rush

The industrial gold rush of the nineteenth century is what ultimately led to widespread use of asbestos. With steam engines producing high amounts of heat and fires burning down homes and factories, companies found that this inexpensive, flexible, and non-combustible material could provide numerous uses, including boiler insulation and mixing it into cement for fire-resistant roofing and walls. Before long, it was in schools, hospitals, warships, and suburban homes by the mid-twentieth century.

The Warning About the Dangers of Asbestos

Nellie Kershaw created raw asbestos yarn at a textile mill in England. She became sick and died in 1924. William Cooke, the physician who treated her, published the first medical description of pulmonary asbestos in 1924. Although she requested compensation for her illness, it was denied. At the time of her death, the laws governing workplace illnesses did not recognize asbestosis as an occupational disease.

Why Did It Take Decades to Ban Asbestos?

Asbestos exposure does not announce itself. Since asbestos fibers are very small, it may take twenty to fifty years before symptoms of mesothelioma (the cancer that is most associated with asbestos) occur. Therefore, an individual who exposed himself to asbestos dust while working in 1965 may not find out he has mesothelioma until the 2000s. By that point in time, proof of a connection will be difficult, and denial of responsibility will likely be possible.

Industry members certainly knew more than they claimed. Litigation eventually brought evidence of industry knowledge into public view. Britain banned blue and brown asbestos in 1985 and white asbestos in 1999. The U.S.A. did not ban chrysotile until 2024. Today, both Russia and Kazakhstan continue to mine large quantities of it.

A Party Trick With A Delayed Reaction

A tablecloth party trick performed by Charlemagne could be safely done because nobody was shredding the fabric into dust. The problems began when millions of tons of this material were mined and shredded into fine powder. It was applied in sealed areas through various processes. The Romans identified the health issues but did nothing about it. We are still dealing with its consequences today.