Why was asbestos so widely used in the past?
Manufacturers and builders liked Asbestos for a variety of reasons. Asbestos is strong yet flexible, and it will not burn. Asbestos conducts electricity poorly, but insulates effectively and also resists corrosion. Asbestos may have been so widely used because few other available materials combine the same qualities in one form. Are there many products that contain asbestos? There was one study that estimated that 3,000 different types of commercial products contained some form of asbestos. The total amount of asbestos in each product was from as little as one percent to as much as 100 percent. Older plastics, paper products, brake linings, floor tiles and textile products often contain asbestos, as do many heavy manufacturing products such as sealants, cement pipe, cement sheets, and insulation. The Asbestos Ban and Phaseout Rule now prohibits the manufacture, processing, and even importation of most asbestos products. Has asbestos been in use long? Yes, asbestos was first used in the
