The serpentine variety is curly, included of chrysotile asbestos (or white asbestos), most commonly used for industrial purposes.

The chrysotile, CAS No. 12001-29-5, is obtained from serpentine rocks which are common throughout the world. It is referred to safe group as well and being only one type of asbestos for exporting. The uniqueness of chrysotile asbestos is in complete absence of natural analogs and artificial substitutes having a combination of a lot useful properties: the large mechanical durability and elasticity, tensile strength, high factor of friction, the resistance and incombustibility, durability, alkali-resistance, high electric resistance, stability against decay, ability to detain bacteria and radiating emanation. Due to the specific characteristics, the chrysotile asbestos is an extremely useful material and has a wide application in asbestos cement production (especially within corrugated asbestos cement roof sheets typically used for developing countries), heat/electroesolation, automobile, air, chemical, petroleum and nuclear industry, manufacture of fireproof materials, textile and cloth products and others.

 Other asbestos fibers, from the amphibole family, are very straight and needle-like included of amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, actinolite, andanthophyllite.

The amphibole fibres used commercially (amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, actinolite, and anthophyllite) are extremely hazardous. Because of their chemical structure and straight, needlelike fibres, amphiboles are very dusty, as well as highly biopersistent. Once in the human body, they can remain indefinitely in the lung tissue, and may cause cancer and mesothelioma.