I presented on asbestos related issues at the EGU25 conference on April 30, 2025. The conference was held in Vienna plus over the Internet with 20,984 researchers focusing on scientific discoveries and discussions. Our April 30th session was packaged with presenters discussing harmful minerals such as asbestos and erionite. I have no idea as to…
Read more
One of the best stories from the Johns-Manville facility in Manville, New Jersey is the multipage historical information provided in the 1980s by Joe and Stella Utasi discussing their escape from the Pennsylvania coal mines to work in the Manville facility. I first blogged on their story on March 3, 2022. The link for that…
Read more
This coming Tuesday, I am presenting asbestos for beginners at the Western Mining Museum here in Colorado Springs. My draft PowerPoint is at https://theasbestosblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Presentation-WMM.pdf for those who are looking for basic history, both pre-industrial revolution or during the industrialization of the modern world. Yes, I know that the presentation is on its right side —…
Read more
For a presentation that I have coming up, I decided to undertake a deep dig into the use of asbestos prior to the industrial revolution. Many journal articles contain partial lists, but I decided to be more comprehensive. My list is as follows: •Many different names including asbestus, asbestinon, and amiantus •Stone Age – Used…
Read more
Typically, when someone asks about the year in which asbestos became useful, the answer given is “the late 1800s.” That answer is somewhat accurate, but I have found a number of historical asbestos related documents to believe that asbestos was widely known in society much earlier. I have already blogged on such early use as…
Read more
Every few weeks, I provide a summary of the prior 200 plus blogs including the the topic, date, and cite. My hope is that such a summary is useful to my readers as they get involved in historical asbestos research. Also, let me know if you want a particular asbestos history topic covered. Blog Title…
Read more
I like dealing with smart people who make a different. The below is from one of such person about changes in the law that are geared towards helping Bangladesh Shipbreaking Laborers. For the old rules and conduct in which beach shipbreaking activities are called the most dangerous job in the world, see my prior blogs…
Read more
I apologize for the terrible condition of the February 26, 1970 letter from Irving Selikoff at Mount Sinai School of Medicine to William Pierson of the Ford Motor Company Chemistry Department, Scientific Research Staff, but the attached is the best that I have. I can read my copy with some effort, but the scanned document…
Read more
My research thesis on the involvement of asbestos and potential asbestos substitutes in the Challenger tragedy is discussed at https://theasbestosblog.com/?p=10618. I first posted my full research project discussing this Internet myth during January 2022 in the blog located at https://theasbestosblog.com/?p=9723. The full blown 75 page research paper with footnotes and bibliography can be read at https://theasbestosblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Space-Shuttle-Challenger-Thesis-1282022.pdf. If…
Read more
Researching asbestos history is difficult — lots of mistakes (especially about the science), experts and attorneys with private data/document silos, significant paywalls to get articles, inconsistent claims trying to reconcile studies that have been undertaken in the Global South to those using the countries of the Global North, and on and on and on. This…
Read more
Recent Comments