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Man’s fatal attraction to asbestos reaches back in time to at least 3000 BC. That’s what we know from historical records and artifacts, but ancient people probably used asbestos long before then. After all, who could resist a rock possessing such magical properties: silky, flexible, lustrous, fireproof, insulating, and rot-resistant.

Tracing the footprints of asbestos, we first see man using this magnesium-silicate mineral in Scandinavian pottery and insulation around 3000 BC. Clay pots found in Africa dating back to 2000 BC also contained asbestos. Fast forward to the Grecian era, and we find evidence of mining asbestos for use in burial robes, lamp wicks, household linens, and clothing. Greek scholars also wrote about lethal respiratory illnesses afflicting the unlucky slaves assigned to mine and work with asbestos. This is the first record linking asbestos disease to the deadly dust that asbestos generated.

Relics made of asbestos appear sporadically throughout the next millennia. Marco Polo and Charlemagne reputedly owned items of asbestos, which they flaunted by igniting to impress friends and inspire fear in foes. Asians incorporated asbestos in papermaking to improve longevity of documents. Knights wore insulating asbestos garments under suits of armour. Paper made of asbestos lies in Vatican archives, preserving holy documents written in the 17th century.

Throughout the 20th century, asbestos moguls built an empire on the backs of ill-fated workers and spineless governments. These companies promised economic disaster to those who tried to regulate or otherwise control their operations. Research linking asbestos exposure to disease was confirmed several times during the 20th century, but the 20- to 40-year latency of asbestos diseases worked in favor of the industry. They shifted the blame for worker illness to similar diseases of the time, such as silicosis, tobacco induced lung cancer, and tuberculosis.

Through this subterfuge, industry was able to twist the facts and continue mining and production of asbestos products until near the end of the 20th century. These corporations either refuted convincing evidence or hid the damaging facts from the public, while silencing former employees with monetary bribes.

Poor souls wasting away from asbestos disease didn’t have the resources, iron will, or good health to do battle with these multi-million dollar companies. Now, man’s 4,000-year-long love affair with asbestos is nearing the end, as historic lawsuits draw public attention to the truth about asbestos. Finally victims of the disease have gained the support of government agencies and victim advocacy groups.

Many locations where artifacts of asbestos were found became prolific mining sites from the late 1800s to nearly the end of the 20th century. Asbestos is still mined in the Ural Mountains of Russia, Quebec, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Brazil.
Today, world wide bans have diminished demand for asbestos and closed mines in Italy, USA, Australia, and the European Union, yet EU and US capital still provides financial backing for foreign mines, manufacturing operations, and waste disposal sites in third world countries. It looks as though Russia, China, and India will set the stage for asbestos’ devastating second coming.

As seen so often in the past, industry disguises the dangers involved in profitable business to promote their wealth at the expense of trusting workers. A world-wide ban of all asbestos industry is in the future, the only question is how long it will take to be enforced, and how many innocent lives will be lost along the way.

 Article Source: http://www.informationbible.com/article-short-history-of-asbestos-371011.html