Today, we go back to 1933 and act like a fly on the wall concerning a December 14th letter from Harvard University School of Public Health (I cannot read the name of the author) to Gerard Swope, then the President of General Electric, Inc. There is a lot to unpack in this letter. Initially, the…
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There is very little, asbestos wise, more fun than a deep dig into historical issues. Today, we examine exactly when asbestos became useful rather than primarily a play-thing. Fortunately, I happen to have a hard copy of a document which conclusively answers that question; well, at least for England. I believe that this document, an…
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My third thesis for the Masters in History program will likely involve tracking asbestos (primarily blue) sold by Cape Asbestos in South Africa to Johns-Manville for use in the JM Waukegan, Illinois site and which, over time, found itself into Lake Michigan, onto the Illinois beaches, or as being within the superfund clean-up site. The…
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I get a fair number of requests focused on asbestos issues arising from older home construction. Given that this is not my sweet spot on the historical use of asbestos, I have linked at https://theasbestosblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/1989-Asbestos-in-Home-CPSC.pdf a 1989 joint publication by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission that…
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Below is a listing with hot links to each of my 150 asbestos history blogs since December 2020. It has been a wonderful three years and I appreciate the interest so many of my friends have shown. My total view count is about to reach 22,000 for these last three years. My blogs are intended…
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I have previously posted about Asbestos Fundamentals, a German origin book published by Hans Berger and then translated to English by Ralph Oesper, then of the University of Cincinnati, in 1963. At 171 pages, it is an amazing resource. Today, we are going to discuss Chapter 3 entitled “Historical Development,” The discussion begins with Callimachus…
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We write and talk a great deal about asbestos fibers arising from occupational exposure, but what about those same fibers in your breathing zone just because of where you live? I don’t mean the real hot spots like Libby, Montana or Wittenoom, Australia; we all know the horrors faced by residents in those communities when…
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I posted my first Asbestos-Related blog just prior to entering the Masters of History program here at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in January 2021. I am about to reach 20,000 views in just under three years and am honored with your interest. For those who were not with me at the start…
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So, the manufacturing is done for the day, the laborers pack it all up, sweep the floor, take a hit on the water jug, and either head home or stop in at the local drinking establishment. In 1982, the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States decided to extensively research and issue a 265 page…
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Last week, we discussed what Engineers knew about asbestos prior to 1920. Today, let’s discuss how those involved in the electrical trades might find asbestos in their renovation jobs. We will use the Canadian code from 1966 merely as an example. From the following pages taken from the book, clearly asbestos wiring insulation had its…
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