Asbestos History: Finding, Organizing, and Accessing

Let us start of today with a scientific formula. The risk of bad or incomplete asbestos history = increasing the risk of mistakes, which leads to > than necessary bad science, law, and errors. I think that we have all been in the room when an otherwise knowledgeable person says something that sounds a bit off, but you just cannot put your finger on it.

When it comes to historical asbestos documents, the ability to file, organize, and access information is the ultimate remedy to such situations. One of my primary compilations that helps me is my “United States Government 130 Years of Asbestos History, 1882 to 2012.” At 6 inches thick and in date sequential order, much of which was authored by the United States Geological Survey, the compilation packs a lot of historical punch.

The book has all of the necessary yearly publications from the Minerals Resource series, such as the following examples from 1882, 1943, and 2000:

However, I have supplemented those publications with other useful material, such as asbestos exposure naturally occurring by County in California:

And information on historical asbestos mining in the United States. This page deals with the Rocky Mountains, including the great state of Colorado in which I live:

I also include the following document with world-wide asbestos information summarized from 1900 to 2003.

In summary, this type of compilation often allows me to capture and check asbestos related information without fumbling through the more complex or detailed books in my library.

What about you? Any suggested tips? If so, let me know at TheAsbestosBlog@gmail.com or by leaving a comment. Thank. Marty