Asbestos History

Asbestos History

Asbestos use in human culture dates back at least 4,500 years, when evidence shows that inhabitants of the Lake Juojärvi region in East Finland strengthened earthenware pots and cooking utensils with the asbestos mineral anthophyllite. The word asbestos comes from the ancient Greek ἄσβεστος, meaning "unquenchable" or "inextinguishable". One of the first careful descriptions of the material is attributed to Theophrastus in his text On Stones, around 300 BC, although the naming of minerals was not very consistent at that time (the more consistent name of this material in both modern and ancient Greek is amiantos (undefiled, pure) whence the names of it in other languages like French amiante; the modern Greek word ἀσβεστος or ασβέστης stands consistently and solely for lime, not for the material known as asbestos in English). The term asbestos is traceable to Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder's manuscript Natural History, and his use of the term asbestinon, meaning "unquenchable". While Pliny is popularly attributed with recognising the detrimental effects of asbestos on slaves, examination of primary sources shows that this is not so. Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor (800-814), is said to have had a tablecloth made of asbestos.

According to Tabari, one of the curious items belonging to Khosrow II Parviz, the great Sassanian king (r. 531-579), was a napkin that he cleaned by simply throwing it into fire. This is believed to be made of asbestos. (This is also mentioned in The New Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 6, 2003, page 843). Wealthy Persians, who bought asbestos imported over the Hindu Kush, amazed guests by cleaning the cloth by simply exposing it to fire. According to Biruni in his book of Gems, any cloths made of asbestos were called shostakeh. Some of the Persians believed the fiber was fur from an animal that lived in fire and died when exposed to water, hence the old mistaken myth that the salamander tolerated fire.

While traveling to Siberia, Marco Polo described being offered garments that could not burn. He was told that the wool was from the salamander, but did not accept this explanation. At last he was told that these garments were made from a mineral from the mountains, which contained threads just like wool.

Some archeologists believe that ancients made shrouds of asbestos, wherein they burned the bodies of their kings, in order to preserve only their ashes, and prevent their being mixed with those of wood or other combustible materials commonly used in funeral pyres. Others assert that the ancients used asbestos to make perpetual wicks for sepulchral or other lamps. In more recent centuries, asbestos was indeed used for this purpose. Although asbestos causes skin to itch upon contact, ancient literature indicates that it was prescribed for diseases of the skin, and particularly for the itch. It is possible that they used the term asbestos for soapstone, because the two terms have often been confused throughout history.