I didn't see the post that generated this reply. And of course it is OT. But I have to comment.
One, there are two basically different types of asbestos: chrysotile and amphibole. Chrysotile asbestos, which is the commonly used form, breaks down in the lungs, and has not been shown to cause disease from normal exposures.
Amphibole, which does not break down in the lungs, causes all sorts of disease. It was not widely used, but was used in ship boiler insulation, because it resists acid from coal fires. This was why shipyard workers suffered from asbestosis and mesothelioma.
Lumping the two forms of asbestos together created the asbestos witch-hunt. Literally billions of dollars have been spent on eliminating chrysotile asbestos from buildings, roofs, and brakes, even though there is not a single documented case of someone in a building becoming ill from asbestos exposure.
However, it is unquestioned that people have died because of asbestos removal. One of the important uses of chrysotile asbestos was on steel frames in buildings. It gives the steel longer survivability in fires, so people can get out. I haven't read whether the World Trade Centers had asbestos insulation on the steel frames, but that is exactly the situation where absence of asbestos has cost lives.
Sorry for this post, I am not connected with the asbestos industry. But reality and truth have become rare commodities, so I thought I needed to say something.
Louis Schulman Tampa, Florida On Fri, 14 Feb 2003 11:38:33 -0600, David Cooper wrote:
#Asbestos was added to brake shoes (and clutch discs) for three #reasons: 1) because it could take the high frictional heat without #disintegrating; 2) because it was abrasion resistant it would not #wear out quickly when rubbed against steel; and 3) because it was #soft enough to wear out before the brake disc or drum. Altogether #asbestos was a great addition to brakes. It was also commonly used #for its abrasion resistant properties in floor tile. Asbestos was a #fiber and could be woven or processed in many different ways before #it was molded into the brake pads or floor tiles. # #The problems came up when the asbestos turned into dust which #happened as a consequence of wear. The dust is highly toxic. The #modern substitutes (for cars) are metal impregnated which is a harder #material and therefore does not work as well and it wears the brake #discs more quickly, but it does not cause the health problems. Brake #systems have largely been re-engineered to compensate for the #properties of the modern brake pad materials. # #David Cooper #Chicago, IL #_______________________________________________ #Classicrendezvous mailing list #Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org #http://www.bikelist.org/mailman/listinfo/classicrendezvous