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,…
Read more
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…
Read more
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…
Read more
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”…
Read more
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:…
Read more
The below asbestos historical discussion contained in the July 1997 edition of Scientific American in “Asbestos Revisited” by James Alleman and Brooks Mossman discusses the ancient mineral background in much more detail than typical similar discourses and is worthy of a blog. That being said, the article contains one significant mistake: Pages 74-75 at the…
Read more
I have previously posted information about conduct by Johns-Manville in the 1930s to 1950s, especially their legal department, that was, to say the least, disheartening. See my Blogs at https://theasbestosblog.com/?p=769 and at https://theasbestosblog.com/?p=2808. So, did they see the errors of their ways over time or attempt to draw a line under which they would not…
Read more
The oldest United States National Electric Code in my collection is from 1896. It begins on page 373 of the 1896 book authored by N. Hawkins entitled New Catechism of Electricity: A Practical Treatise by stating that the National Code is the “wiremen’s Bible.” I have four original hard copies of this book should anyone…
Read more
History requires a lot of digging and working through old documents. Early in my career, I was curious and interested in how the use of asbestos fibers in automobile brake friction material came about. To support this research, I purchased a number of automobile manuals and instructions. These are but a few of the manuals…
Read more
I am on vacation this week and heading out to meet my new grandson. As such, for my Blog, I will simply point you in the direction of my very first Blog from December 16, 2020 at https://theasbestosblog.com/?p=619 for your reading pleasure. Since then, my 70 plus Blogs have received over 9500 views. I am…
Read more
Recent Comments