Tag: Asbestos

Where History Means Knowledge. Be Informed.

How to Research the Difficult; Ship Breaker Exposure to Asbestos

I am beginning my book project dealing with asbestos exposures arising from ship building, seafaring, and ship breaking (scrapping) that will be my focus for at least a couple of years. Fingers crossed on the detailed research and pulling it off informatively and with an interested readership. Right now, ship breaking is likely the most…
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1825: Asbestos and Talc Were Well Known in the United States

I didn’t know much about 1825, so I looked it up. On February 9, 1825, John Quincy Adams was elected President of the United States without getting the majority of the electoral vote, the popular vote, or any shots being fired. Hand it to Henry Clay for doing the honorable thing. A great deal is…
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Our One Year Anniversary

We went live with this website and blog one year ago as I was morphing from an attorney to a student of history. I could not be happier with the transition in regards to what I do on a day to day basis and the new friends and professionals with whom I get to hang…
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How Manville, N.J. Won the Johns-Manville Plant: 1913

I was playing around on eBay the other day and came across for sale a copy of Ellis Island, The Coal Mines, to the Asbestos Capital of the World which I described in my January 22, 2021 blog at https://theasbestosblog.com/?paged=5&page_id=147. This is quite a book and I never expected to see a second copy on…
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The Century has Turned, What Have we Learned? Asbestos in 1901

We are now into 1901 for our history review through the Minerals Yearbook. The scientists finally have capitulated to market forces that two distinct minerals will be mined and sold using the name “asbestos:” amphiboles and chrysotile. So, it is no longer “asbestos” versus “chrysotile” but, rather, it is “amphiboles” versus “chrysotile,” both of which…
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Asbestos Uses: 125 Years Ago. Damn the Torpedoes!

The year was 1896 (or 1897) and the scientists employed by the United States Geological Survey at the Secretary of the Interior decided to expand their annual (almost annual) discussion on asbestos. One area on which they focused during this 1896-1897 edition was the ever broadening uses of asbestos in society during that time frame.…
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When and Why did Chrysotile Become Known as Asbestos: 1895

As you may remember from my post last week, the 1892 Minerals Report for Asbestos discussed why Chrysotile fibers were not asbestos, although they appeared similar. See the first five sentences from the first page of that report. By 1895, the scientists threw up their hands and just refer to both asbestos and Chrysotile as…
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When was Chrysotile NOT Asbestos? 1891

I was reading Facebook the other day and saw a question on whether the the types of fibers which are considered to be “asbestos” have changed through the years. I decided to blog on this issue within the bounds of my current project reviewing the USGS Minerals Yearbooks. This topic is addressed by the United…
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Asbestus 1882

As I sort out my plans for a book on the international use of asbestos with a focus on safety and environmental issues related to shipbuilding, sailors, and shipbreaking, I will start my due diligence research with some United States historical documents called the “Mineral Yearbooks.” In summary this is a good place to start…
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Kaylo Insulation from Owens Illinois: Everything that you want to know in a small package

I have a historical sale brochure for Kaylo Insulation with no date, although we know that it has to be prior to 1958 as Owens Illinois then sold the Kaylo line to Owens Corning. This brochure is a good example of how the insulation industry was advertising their use of asbestos products. Initially, we know…
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