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Where History Means Knowledge. Be Informed.

Mavis Nye: A god or a Demi-god?

I see from Raymond’s recent posts that Mavis is going through a tough time of it. As such, now would be a good time for me to repeat my August 5, 2021 blog entitled “Mavis Nye: A Force to be Reckoned with” originally posted at https://theasbestosblog.com/?p=8406. Mavis is one of a kind and has done…
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Asbestos 1, Nazi Germany 0, and the Brits Keeping Score: Asbestos made a Difference.

The British government, and particularly its Intelligence Objectives Sub-Committee, analyzed the German Asbestos Industry right after World War II and concluded that “The technical development of the German asbestos industry has been retarded during the war by the shortage of raw materials.” In summary, it made a difference. Rather than me read the pages to…
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Update on Shipbreaking Asbestos Issues:  Ratification of Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships.  As to Asbestos Harm, Worthless or Worthwhile?

This posting follows up on my research thesis on the asbestos exposures experienced by shipbreaking laborers in Bangladesh published in two of my May 2023 blogs which are at https://theasbestosblog.com/?p=10929 and https://theasbestosblog.com/?p=10943. This update becomes necessary based on the ratification of the Hong Kong Convention discussed below. The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe…
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Manville Trust Document Repository is now Phone and Email Only. The Denver, Colorado In-person Location is Closed.

This is big news to those of us who research Johns-Manville history. The JM Claims Research Facility in Denver, Colorado will no longer allow scheduled appointments for in-person research. Starting July 1, 2023, all contacts are by phone or email which means, of course, that getting your eyeballs on the correct documents will be a…
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Page 2: Asbestos History and Uses as the Roaring 20s Heated Up: Focusing on Johns-Manville in Blog Number 2.

If my discussion last week at https://theasbestosblog.com/?p=11018 on asbestos containing products available one-hundred years ago wasn’t enough, I have attached at https://theasbestosblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/JM-Power-Users-1920-Material.pdf a 167 page publication by Johns-Manville from 1920 which discusses in exquisite detail all of its building materials. The Table of Contents is as follows: Also, for those of you who wonder whether…
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Asbestos History and uses as the Roaring 20s Heated Up.

The 1920s saw a significant expansion in the use of asbestos containing products. For you to understand this history, I have attached the following three one-hundred year old articles from Raw Materials Magazine: (1) March 1920 article titled “Asbestos Manufactured Products and Uses,” (2) July 1922 article titled “Asbestos, An Ideal Insulating Material,” and (3)…
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The History of Talc, and How to Find and Understand that History.

As talc is becoming a bigger issue, I wanted to ensure that my readers are able to find and understand the history — even if needed for the deepest of deep dig. Of my 122 blog posts, three have focused on the history of talc. The first was on August 27, 2021, titled “Talc and…
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Asbestos Post: Listing of Prior 122 Blog Topics

As my readership continues to grow, I like to periodically provide a searchable summary of my prior blog topics, just in case a reader would like to search for a specific topic. My prior posts of this list have drawn a lot of readers. As such, my prior asbestos blog posts are as follows: Blog…
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Global Information on Asbestos as of 1959: A Materials Survey by the United States Government.

Global surveys seem to always include forgotten information. As an example, did anyone reading this blog know or remember that Crocidolite Asbestos was mined in Bolivia? I did not, and yet Circular 7880 titled Asbestos-A Minerals Survey by Oliver Bowles for the United States Bureau of Mines in 1959 states as follows: This publication is…
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Mesothelioma Cases Caused by Environmental Factors are Increasing: This includes Household and Neighborhood Exposure to Asbestos. Be Careful out There.

The February 2023 scholarly article published by Junjie Huang, PhD and twelve co-authors lays out a very convincing argument that Mesothelioma cases caused by occupational exposures to asbestos are decreasing in the developed countries while Mesothelioma cases caused by environmental cases, including household and neighborhood exposures, are increasing. As stated by those thirteen authors at…
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