Asbestos uses and hazards

Chrysotile is a noncombustible fibrous solid that has been widely used as a fireproof thermal insulator, for brake linings, in construction materials, and for filters under the name of asbestos. It decomposes with loss of water at 600-800 °C, eventually forming forsterite and silica at 810-820 °C. Because it is more resistant to attack by alkalis than are the amphibole asbestoses, chrysotile has been used in chloralkali cell membranes and in admixture with Portland cement for making sewer pipes (Chapter 11). 

Asbestos fibers have been linked to the high incidence of lung cancer and mesothelioma (an otherwise rare pleural cancer) in asbestos workers and are considered to pose a threat to the population at large. Some 5000 deaths per annum in the United States have been attributed to mineral fiber contacts. There is now evidence that the true asbestoses such as amosite or crocidolite have a much higher association with mesothelioma than does the chrysotile used in most commercial asbestos, but controversy continues regarding the health hazards of asbestoses. The problem is evidently a general one with dust particles and fibers of any kind that are small enough 

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