It is a fantastically useful material, except for all the mesothelioma.
Seriously, except for the horrific issues with the stuff, it would be an essential material for various applications.
Its resistance to fire, heat transfer, etc would do wonders for insulation and construction.
Makes me wonder if it could be treated in some way to make it not-so-inhalable. Though maybe we have better synthetic alternatives by now.
As I’ve understood it, the problem is primarily for the people having to manufacture products using it, and at rest it’s supposed to be inert.
Except that people don’t always recognize it and end up drilling holes in it or sawing through it
This is probably how I’ll die tbh
It’s supposed to be it tends to get brittle and fracture creating airborne shards that you can breath in but your body can’t break down and that continuously damages the cells leading to cancer.
Any time you disturb it theres a problem
TIL, I’m an asbestos.
Doesn’t burn, really hard to wear out, you can just dig it out of the ground, easy to shape and repair.
Except it kills people, and it hurts the whole time they’re dying.
Mother Gaia does a little trolling
“If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you may be entitled to compensation…”
We are in Australia. The company that mined the stuff was found negligent as they kept selling it for decades after they knew it was deadly dangerous
I also hear that so many times thanks to one of the Brain Blaze (on YouTube) editors
The same shit happened in Spain
The company that founded Wittenoom?
CSR, if I recall correctly
As long as it doesn’t break down it’s awesome
I had to reinsulate my attic a few years ago and I found about five different types of insulation up there (I have an old house) … I had to do a bunch of research on this stuff and figure out what I had … thankfully I was ok but I found this in my search online
Oh my god. Blue asbestos is the worst kind, or best if mesothelioma is your thing. Every single one of the people in that picture died from pulmonary issues.
My grandparents old farm had an asbestos carpet under their current carpet. I’m very very happy I was around to spot that, and for having audited a lot of abatement companies.
It also had asbestos roofing, but at least we weren’t about to rip that up by hand
But like, why asbestos?
Why can’t they shovel sand or dirt or something?
To make people believe it was safe. They knew it wasn’t, so they manipulated public opinion with marketing stunts.
“Of course it’s safe! Look how safe it is! It’s fun for the whole family! What do you think we are, monsters?”
When in fact yes … yes they were monsters … and there are monsters still around us today
Wittenoom was an asbestos mining town, it was the whole reason for the towns existence. They believed at the time that not only was asbestos safe but they would spread blue asbestos out on the ground around their houses and paths on purpose (for some reason, i forget why exactly, might have been as an insect deterrent or something).
So this wouldnt be that weird for them, like a coal mining town digging buckets of coal.
Our house is about 150 years old and we dug down to the dirt floor in one of the downstairs rooms. We found suspicious white bits, and had to send a sample off. Luckily it came back clear. It was unlikely anyway, as asbestos wasn’t in widespread use here in the 19th century.
However, we do have corrugated asbestos roofing on our “scullery” but it’s in one piece so can be left until we renovate that part, then disposed of safely. It’s pretty common to find it on sheds and outbuildings here.
Aw fuck, I knew I remembered that shit from childhood.
Something something you may be entitled to compensation
Do you have cancer yet?
One assumes eventually.
How are you still alive?
Probably because symptoms of mesothelioma take decades to develop, and I only encountered that stuff around a few holiday seasons in my earliest memories.
Aw fuck l, I knew I remembered that shit from
childhoodThe Wizard of Oz.
Also known as cancer in a box
Treat your taste kindly with KENT, the cigarette with the NEW Micronite filter!
^^Micronite ^^is ^^asbestos.
Oh oh, I’ve got one too. It’s not containing Asbestos but Thorium (or Radium respectively) tho.
“Doramad radioactive toothpaste”
“Creates natural freshness in the mouth!”
“Special biological healing effects by radium rays. A thousand times medically prescribed and recommended.”
“What does Doramad do? Through its radioactivity, it increases the defenses of teeth and gums. The cells are charged with a new vigorous life energy, which inhibits bacteria in their destructive ability. Hence the exquisite prevention and healing effect on gum diseases. Polishes enamel to the softest shiny white. Prevents tartar approach. Good foam, new taste, pleasant, mild and refreshing. Use extensively.”
Quick disclaimer: The last two quotes can be found on Wikipedia but they are not backed up with sources.
Jesus fuck
Oh yes, the market will grind us all into a thin gruel for another dollar.
At least you don’t have to worry about caries anymore 💀
And I thought Alex Jones’ colloidal silver was insane
The irony is that production was only stopped after Hiroshima and Nagasaki as nobody wanted to buy radioactive toothpaste any more. So the US which developed nukes against the Germans actually saved the Germans from radioactive poisoning by dropping said nukes on Japan.
One could say it left a bitter taste in some German’s mouths. ^(I couldn’t resist)
It’s because of that kind of thing that I’m always skeptical of startups bringing new and shiny things, that weren’t properly studied or tested, and promising to revolutionize something.
Hey, how about that somewhat rushed mrna vaccine 😅
To be fair, fuck getting covid, plus there was significant related research, so I’m vaccinated…but also…👀
You know what, their claim about odour being caused by bacteria, and bacteria being damaged by radiation is on point.
I’m sure you’ll have some odour when your mouth turns into a giant weeping sore though
Weapons grade teeth…you should only have 20 teeth left at adulthood to safely use this product with a 90% chance of having no chain reaction events.
in German they say “Für ein strahlendes Lächeln” (for a radiant/beaming smile)
Is this double cancer?
Super cancer actually, it’s an easy mistake to make
turbo cancer
Hiper cancer
turbocancer sticks!
now with better flavour!
Oi, Kent! Oi, Kent! Cancer’s here, some there, it’s every-fuckin’-where!!
They’re going to say the same about plastic
they already are
And we keep ramping up production because… Capitalism!
Plastic is not very reactive. This property makes it generally not directly harmful to organic health, but also notoriously slow to decompose, causing huge amounts of pollution. I think it’s misleading to compare it to asbestos.
From what I gather, asbestos is also very stable and not reactive. Asbestosis is caused by tiny fibers physically tearing your lungs.
It’s unlikely that plastic is as dangerous (we’d seen it by now) but its buildup can likewise cause some condition.
To be clear, asbestos is less reactive than plastic (particularly most thermoplastics) by a wide margin. One burns, the other will not. Asbestos is closer to glass. It requires incredibly high temperatures to turn it into glass as a matter of fact, as that’s about the only way to dispose of it permanently.
Microplastics gathering in the brain. Most of which come from tires not food containers.
Such as increased rates of infertility iirc
Just waiting for 3D printing fumes and SLA resin to be under the radar.
I’m pretty sure we could go back to using it, with more precautions in place, better binders, etc. Hell, it’s still used in many parts of the world, and it occurs naturally all over the fucking place. But, alas, lawyers would have to stop salivating at every mention of the word.
In geoscience, we started using the word asbestoform to describe minerals with fibrous habits so we don’t get lawyers showing up to destroy all of our rock samples and turn every geoscience facility into a superfund site.
I’m pretty sure we could go back to using it, with more precautions in place, better binders, etc. Hell, it’s still used in many parts
Is there a way to keep it inert when the next homeowner starts tearing down drywall and drilling holes in stuff?
Not really, but you mark is clearly everywhere and bond it in fire resistant epoxy.
People will learn when they drill into their wall and hit epoxy that means something.
That helps somewhat, but if the house gets demolished with a bulldozer that’s still a lot of asbestos floating around again. The point is, you don’t know what will happen to it in the future, and it’s just not safe to have semi hazardous material lying around everywhere.
It’s pretty unlikely the homeowner is bulldozing the house themselves. So likely it’s handled by professionals.
Epoxied asbestos is approximately as dangerous as epoxied fibreglass – add some dust suppression and have at it.
What if there’s an earthquake, or a tornado, or a flood?
Entire neighborhoods of carcinogens would be released into the environment.
Unless said hurricane, tornado, or flood grinds the material into a fine powder then you go around the neighbourhood snorting it – then if bound properly, it is just as safe (or dangerous) as fibreglass insulation.
I’m not saying fill everyone’s attics with powdered asbestos or something.
We use dangerous products all the time. For example, mercury in florescent lighting. But we regulate and generally speaking things are quite safe. But for whatever reason, as soon as anyone hears the word asbestos they freak out and no amount of explanations regarding safe handling will suffice.
Well, hurricanes and tornadoes and floods DO grind materials into dust, which can then turn aerosol.
So maybe we just, ya know, don’t use it in construction at all.
Russia and China still use it loads.
As with all research papers published out of China, you take their numbers with a grain of salt. They report approximately 2000 cases per year of mesothelioma, and of those, only 15% are definitively asbestos exposure related. So about 300 per year. Of those cases, over 80% are asbestos industry (improper safety measures for repeated occupational exposure).
Compared to fire related deaths prevented, it’s probably a good trade for China. Probably.
My dad was a contractor and he had a big sheet of it in the garage that was leftover from some job. It looked kind of like a sheet of drywall, but was grey and rougher. I used to take it into the back yard with a little blow torch and and lay on it while I melted metal things. I was probably ten to twelve at the time.
It was a different time.
😬😬😬😬😬😬
"Asbestos was first synthesized by the master magi Mesothelioma. He was looking for a way to slowly poison the local villages without easy detection, and ended up creating one of the most common robe linings found today.
Mesothelioma is remembered long after his passing, though not fondly. If you, or a loved one, has been harmed by the creations of Dark Lord Mesothelioma, Sending us today…"
Stupid people used asbestos. We made ourselves part plastic!
Asbestos generation laughing at the Romans and their use of lead
Here goes the microplastic generation
The geological record will be atomic fallout, and then microplastics on the next layer.
My testicles are really bouncy! How about yours? No? Get some micro plastics in your diet!
Makes me daydream of what new horrible thing the next generations are going to poison themselves with
The current one we are poisoning ourselves with is … disinformation and delusion
Oh no, it’s always something no one even thinks about until 30 years later. It’s always a surprise. Something everyone thought was a great thing.
I just hope it’s not cat pictures.
We’ve also swept psychotropic drugs in the drinking water under the rug…
Can’t be that bad if you don’t even bother elaborating.
That logic sounds suspect and I’m not sure what you’re on about…
My bet is Hardi board will be the next one. Concrete dust causes silicosis. In industrial construction allowable concrete dust is basically zero. Residential construction people are sawing and grinding this concrete siding all the time.
Hardi board
That’s a good one. I haven’t heard of that before. It even checks off the “fireproof” box
Except there were scientific studies done at the time that “proved” it was safe, even as a cigarette filter. Can’t really blame people for trusting that IMO.
Now I wonder what was actually so flawed about those studies.
my garage, the old fence, and a good chunk of my house is asbestos.
They’ve been standing 60 years and you wouldn’t know it.
Damn shame we can’t use the material. Proof god hates us.
Time to move to the glorious nation of Kazakhstan, the top producer of potassium, to get some of those magic minerals to protect my countless buildings.
Very Nice!!!
Next: Carbon fiber filament for 3d printers
See also: Radium
Could someone please explain the joke to me?
Asbestos is notoriously cancer causing, dangerous, EPA damning material that many, many homes, farms, buildings, etc. in America (and a few other countries) used heavily because of the properties espoused in the advertisement above.
And many people have suffered premature deaths as a result.
Asbestos was even used in the Wizard of Oz for the snow falling on the cast.
I had Asbestos in my ceiling in a home I purchased and had to pay $12k to remediate it. They wore masks, had negative pressure ventilation suits on, had to get EPA certifications, checks, etc.
It’s brutal stuff.
My mother grew up with her mother using asbestos heat distributors on the stove (between the flame and the pot) and they wore out regularly. Grandma was apparently very annoyed when the product was banned
Mum died in 2021 of a cardiac cancer, caused by asbestos
Wow, that got dark quickly. Sorry for your loss.
Asbestos stories go like that. Thank you.
They wore masks, had negative pressure ventilation suits on
I hope those were positive pressure suits, positive pressure helps to keep dust out of the suit. Negative pressure ventilation is used to help sick people breathe easier, like the iron lung for example.
To quote Wikipedia:
It was also later discovered to cause lung cancer, mesothelioma and also because of its fibrous structure; it breaks into lots of tiny little microscopic needles when agitated. Those little shards get inhaled and poke tiny holes in your lungs which causes Asbestosis (kind of like Emphysema for smokers).
Sometimes the little shards make it through the lungs into the blood and thence onwards to cause cancer in any part of the body* it comes to rest
*Except the most protected parts: brain and gonads
I remember as a kid we had some kind of puck-shaped asbestos bathroom deodorizer. It was also used in urinals back in the day.
