This ‘miracle’ mineral was used in the manufacturing of fire-resistant products for almost two centuries. There were three types of asbestos that were heavily used – chrysotile (white asbestos) was used in roughly 97% of asbestos containing products, crocidolite (blue asbestos) was included in electrical applications and amosite (brown asbestos) was mostly used in chemical plants.
There were usually two main cases of asbestos exposure concerning contaminated products. As these were manufactured, the workers found themselves in factories infested with asbestos particles and once applied, these products started to deteriorate with the passing of time, turning the asbestos contained within friable and unstable. You could have been exposed if: