Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral which has been used in a variety of useful products for hundreds of years since Roman times. It is found throughout the world including Africa, Australia, Canada, Russia, the United States of America and China.
Where asbestos can be found?
Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral which has been used in a variety of useful products for hundreds of years since Roman times. It is found throughout the world including Africa, Australia, Canada, Russia, the United States of America and China.
Typically, asbestos can be found in some types of rock such as serpentines, some mafic rocks, altered ultramafic rock, metamorphosed iron formations, metamorphosed dolostones, alkalic intrusions and carbonatites.
The basic unit of the asbestos minerals is the silicate group, formed from oxygen and silicon. In its natural state, asbestos occurs throughout much of the planet: indeed, it is found in two-thirds of the rocks in the earth's crust. The fibres are released by erosion and carried by the wind; thus, depending on where you live, you are most likely inhaling between 10,000 and 15,000 fibres a day.
Mining
When rocks are broken or crushed, the asbestos can be extracted.
It is said that “asbestos is found in 20 of the United States and has been mined in 17 of these states, including the Appalachian region, California and Oregon. In a period extending from the late 1960’s to the early 1970’s, asbestos mining peaked in the United States, with over 299 million pounds mined each year. By 1987, production has diminished to 112 million pounds annually”
Asbestos is also mined in Quebec, British Columbia, Russia, Italy, Greece and Cyprus. In 2005, Russia produced 40% of the asbestos produced in the world, with China and Kazakhstan also producing significant amounts. Tremolite asbestos is mined in small amounts in India. In many developing nations, asbestos chrysotile is continuously used as significant input construction material for roofing products, siding, cement panel, piping...
Currently, chrysotile asbestos is the only type mined on a wide-scale though a handful of countries continue to mine other forms. However, worldwide outrage about the use of dangerous asbestos has forced many countries to reconsider their position on mining.
The map
