This post is aimed at people who are truly interested in the ancient history. For the sake of ease, let’s define ancient history as almost 200 years ago, as we happen to have a book from 1827 (the edition that I have is dated 1827) with a pretty good discussion. In fact, this 550 page…
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Nazis, death camps, and Priests. For my 98th weekly blog, I am going to detour from directly discussing asbestos, although this story is taken from the stories about Johns-Manville provided by the residents of Manville, N.J. during 1987 in the book published by the Manville Public Library titled Ellis Island, the Coal Mines, to the…
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My blog this week will change the pace back to pure history, including what was then thought to be a wonderful development of Johns-Manville moving to Manville, New Jersey. This discussion involves the city outside of the factory and, quite honestly, during a time when asbestos had a good reputation. The city leaders were proud…
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This blog doesn’t really involve history, but I think it important. I seem to get Mesothelioma related ads almost continually, with many focused on the choice of attorneys for those who are potentially interested in pursuing claims. As you may know, I have a web page at https://theasbestosblog.com/?page_id=172 that provides my thoughts as to what…
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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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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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