asbestoshistory – Page 4 – The Asbestos Blog

1969 Asbestos-Cement Water Pipe: Dr. Selikoff States that there is no Evidence (at that time) Supporting its use as being a “recognized health hazard.” Johns-Manville Agrees. You decide the Science.

March 2, 2024

As many of you know, I am researching blue asbestos (crocidolite) issues, including its use in transite pressure piping manufactured at the Waukegan, IL facility. This 1969 document was part of a batch that I purchased this week from the Johns-Manville document repository. I suspect that few people have seen it during the last 30…
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Asbestos, Kids, and Building Sand Castles on an ACM infested Beach. Is that Really Okay?

February 25, 2024

I am waist deep into my thesis research, with a current focus on the Asbestos Containing Material on the Illinois State Beach Park. Just to set the baseline, as of April 1980, even the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States recognized that kids and asbestos do not mix. As stated by the EPA: “It…
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1933: Asbestos: Harvard and General Electric.

February 14, 2024

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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South African Blue Asbestos Polluting the Lake Michigan Shoreline: History Meets Science.

February 9, 2024

I have completed my “final draft” proposal for my third thesis in my Master’s of History program at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. I have stated the research issue as follow: “The specific issue to be addressed in this thesis is the historic use of blue asbestos within the Johns-Manville Corporation manufacturing facility in…
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1830: When Asbestos Became Useful in England

February 1, 2024

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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How to Search for those Tough to Find Documents: Toxicdocs.org is a Good Site to Kick Off your Research Project.

January 24, 2024

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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Does Asbestos Exposure Cause Tuberculosis: 1937; Big Problem. Today; Not So Much.

January 10, 2024

Once again, science is either the problem or, it has advanced so far as to change what old school scientists thought was not subject to any dispute. While undertaking my asbestos historical research, I ran across the issue of whether asbestos was a potential cause of tuberculosis. I can already see many of my technology…
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Asbestos in the Home: 1989 EPA and CPSC

January 3, 2024

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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150 Asbestos Blogs: Skim and Enjoy

December 21, 2023

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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State of the Field for Environmental History: A Spot for Researching Minerals in the Workplace such as Asbestos, Silica, Talc, and Lead.

December 14, 2023

My paper on the State of the Field for Environmental History is completed. It is about 14 pages with 62 footnotes and was submitted in the United States History in the World class. For those who like to read scholarly research, you can find a copy of the paper at https://theasbestosblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/State-of-the-Field-Essay-Env-History-1282023.pdf. My goal is to…
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