Tag: Asbestos

Where History Means Knowledge. Be Informed.

Searching for Asbestos History: Another Good Resource Example

This blog continues my discussion on historical resources available to search asbestos exposures; this time, with a focus on a United Kingdom authored and published book from 1919. The book is entitled Asbestos and the Asbestos Industry: The World’s Most Wonderful Mineral and Other Fireproof Materials authored by A. Leonard Summers as part of the…
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Asbestos Fundamentals: A 1963 Primer to Understand History

Last week, my Blog addressed a 148 page dynamo book originally written in German by Hans Berger and then translated in 1966 to English by Professor Ralph Oesper of the University of Cincinnati on the historical use of asbestos in plastics and rubbers. Today, we move back three years to 1963 and we broaden the…
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Back to Historical Basics: The Use of Asbestos in Plastics and Rubber

I remember a meeting with a friend sometime during 2010ish in which he stated “What do you mean using asbestos in plastics? That never happened.” My response was “I have a book from 1966 entitled Asbestos with Plastics and Rubber which begs to differ with you.” After he read the book, opinions gave way to…
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Challenger Ch 3: The US Air Force Academy Library, Special Collection; How do you define Amazing? How do you Remember the Great Escape?

As I previously mentioned, my research into the Challenger Disaster has been aided by a Clark-Yudkin Research Fellowship from the US Air Force Academy Library, Special Collections.  As I used their resources this week, let me tell you about a kid in a candy shop. First, you may ask, is why would this Library have…
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The Challenger and Asbestos Putty: So, why is this Even an Issue Worth Discussing? Chapter 2.

This Blog is Chapter 2 in our discussion on the January 28, 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Chapter 1 was the most widely viewed Blog since I began blogging in December 2020 and I appreciate the feedback and comments. Given the passage of time, you may be wondering why the putty is even an issue…
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Fireside Chat: Let’s talk Asbestos. Let’s talk the Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion. Let’s talk both. Lesson No. 1

The Space Shuttle Challenger explosion was so grievous that many of us remember our exact location on January 28, 1986 at 11:38 a.m. EST; for me, that was in a restaurant next to the Union Bank Building in Grand Rapids, Michigan with a bunch of the attorneys watching the launch on a big screen television.…
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Mesothelioma Medical Research and Advances: State of the Art and Hope for the Future

The International Mesothelioma Interest Group (iMig) held a virtual conference on May 7-9, 2021 discussing all things medical (plus a little more) about Mesothelioma and other asbestos related illnesses. The scope and depth of the discussions by doctors and medical researchers around the globe was staggering; in fact, overwhelming for those of us who are…
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Ship Breaking in Bangladesh: Exporting the Asbestos Exposure with no Worker Safety

Ship Breaking means what visually comes to mind: breaking old ships into pieces for disposal or recycling. One of the primary areas in the world that specializes in Ship Breaking is Chittagong Ship Yards in Bangladesh. This link provides a good visual as to how this occurs. https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2012/may/06/shipbreaking-yards-chittagong-in-pictures. As discussed in the link, the workers…
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International Mesothelioma Interest Group Virtual Conference, May 7-9

As a change from my normal historical based weekly Blog, let’s discuss Mesothelioma and other asbestos disease related research. As the diagnosis lag from exposure to asbestos is generally 30 to 40 years, literally millions of currently living ill fated people will be diagnosed with, and die from, an asbestos related disease who are already…
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The History of Asbestos in Electrical Products. 100 Years Ago.

As my weekly Blogs focus on history, I decided that we needed one which discusses the historical use of asbestos in electrical products. Electricians are one of the trades with a long history of exposure to asbestos, whether in the U.K., https://electrical.theiet.org/wiring-matters/years/2020/81-july-2020/asbestos-guidance-for-electricians/, the United States, https://www.ecmag.com/section/safety/asbestos-workplace, or elsewhere. As mentioned in the articles, electricians are…
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