As you upgrade old electrical systems or inspect them for destruction, do you ever wonder whether the original material contained asbestos? One of my favorite resources are the older catalogs which are very thick, heavy, and data intensive. These do not replace testing, of course, but they are a good starting point for knowledge. Many…
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The article is entitled “Mobility of asbestos fibers below ground is enhanced by dissolved organic matter from soil amendments.” The importance of this 2021 article by Sanjay Mohanty and her co-authors published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters is best stated in the Abstract as follows: “To prevent exposure of millions of people living…
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I am a Historian and not a scientist. The more I dig into the history, the more this (to me) becomes self-evident. Let’s discuss the 1991 article by scientist Phillip E. Enterline, PhD who claimed that, after reviewing the available literature existing between 1934 and 1965, there was no consensus in the United States that…
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I suspect that the title might have a few of you scratching your head. That’s okay as we should all learn at least one new thing every day. This proposition of asbestos combining the three kingdoms was discussed by Oliver Bowles in his 1946 book entitled Asbestos: The Silk of the Mineral Kingdom which he…
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For those of you interested in researching specific topics in asbestos history, whether for lawsuits or otherwise, finding the primary source materials is critical. At the same time, secondary sources by scientists and historians in the know are a good starting point. One of my favorite research books is the 1963 Asbestos Fundamentals: origin, properties,…
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I don’t know the Norway legal system and nor do I have any insights into the judges who sit on this appeal court. However, being familiar with many other courts and judges, I am duly impressed. The link to the entire 36 page, easy to read, decision is at https://theasbestosblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-Norway-Court-Decision-Asbestos_10102022.pdf. The case involved a group…
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The need for better technology to determine the presence of asbestos fibers in the air and in materials was brought home recently in the 2020 study entitled “Asbestos-containing materials in abandoned residential dwellings in Detroit” by a team of authors led by Dr. Alfred Franzblau at the University of Michigan. The most important findings of…
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Breaking ships at the end of their lives (versus sinking them to be a reef in the Ocean or turning them into museums) is big business with a lot of battles between purchasers/countries that want the business and steel against environmental and labor groups. Publicity matters; a lot. Just Google ” aircraft carrier San Paulo”…
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As I dig into the historical research concerning these seemingly independent concepts and begin to conceptualize my analysis, I have found one scholar who’s work has directly touched on all three of these issues. R. Scott Frey authored a paper entitled “The International Traffic in Asbestos” in 2006 and authored “Breaking Ships in the World-System:…
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What do you get when you combine asbestos, one of the most dangerous minerals in the world, https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/deadliest-minerals-and-gemstones.html (number 3 per this article) with ship breaking in Bangladesh, called by at least one article as “the most dangerous job on the plant.” Certainly a topic worth discussing and, for me, worth devoting the next 9…
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