Saturday, April 14, 2012

Asbestos in ancient times

The Romans used to use asbestos in their cloths for daily use – such as dish-towels, napkins, and table cloths. Pliny the Elder said that they could be cleaned whiter than normal cloth by simply throwing them in the fire. He also noted that the slaves who wove the mineral for cloth often suffered from lung disorders.

The Romans mined or quarried asbestos from all over Europe and the Mediterranean. It was used in literally hundreds of products because it is strong, insulates well, and resists fire and corrosion. The ancients used asbestos in their cloth and in building materials. They wove asbestos fibres into fabrics to make towels, napkins, nets, clothing for slaves and head coverings for women. It was also used in cremation robes and candlewicks and may have been used in the everlasting flame that was kept alight by the Vestal Virgins.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I suspest that there are still many useful applications for asbestos but its proper use cannot be guaranteed.

This is similar I think to thalidomide. Dispite its horrendous danger to pregnant women (or more precisely the fetus) it was later used to help with Leprosy but it was misused in the uneducated and impoverished third world.