Why Do People Use Asbestos?

In most cases, people use asbestos because it is fireproof. This quality made asbestos a seemingly ideal material for insulation and other similar purposes. People also use asbestos because it is cheap and, in its refined form, easy to work with. Asbestos is one of the world’s most plentiful minerals, and asbestos deposits are usually near the surface. Chrysotile (white) asbestos is a thin substance that resembles sheets of tissue paper with cotton balls between them.

Because of its extreme toxicity, the Environmental Protection Agency banned the use of chrysotile asbestos in 2024. As of May 2025, that ban faces an uncertain future in court. But victims can always count on a nationwide asbestos lawyer. Attorneys put first things first by connecting victims with the medical and emotional support they need. Then, an asbestos exposure lawyer diligently builds a strong, evidence-based case. Finally, when the case goes to court, an attorney does not settle for anything less than the best possible results under the circumstances. 

About 4,500 years ago, Finnish craftsmen near Lake Juojärvi used anthophyllite (asbestos-ceramic) to reinforce pots and utensils.

Most early people used asbestos, or similar substances, for ceremonial purposes. For example, many ancient people may have used asbestos shrouds when they burned the bodies of their kings. This asbestos use preserved only the body’s ashes and prevented them from mixing with the ashes of wood or other combustible materials commonly used in funeral pyres.

Other archaeologists believe that the most ancient people used asbestos to make perpetual wicks for sepulchral or other lamps. This use expanded in later years.

Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder's first-century manuscript Natural History used the term asbestinon, meaning “unquenchable.” He said the mineral was more expensive than pearls. Pliny the Younger, his nephew, is popularly credited with recognizing the detrimental effects of asbestos on human beings.

Around 318, Athanasius of Alexandria, a Christian bishop living in 4th century Egypt, wrote that “Indian asbestos is said to be, which had no fear of being burnt, but rather displayed the impotence of the fire by proving itself unburnable. If anyone doubted the truth of this, all he need do would be to wrap himself up in the substance in question and then touch the fire.”

In a remote place he called Ghinghin talas, Marco Polo saw “a good vein from which the cloth which we call salamander, which cannot be burnt if it is thrown into the fire, is made.”

Today, asbestos use is still legal in China, the Philippines, Indonesia, and many other countries. Manufacturers there use asbestos because it’s fireproof. They often export asbestos-laced building materials, consumer products, and manufactured parts all over the world, including to the United States.

Modern asbestos use is also reckless. Talc-asbestos is a good example. Since these two substances are chemically similar, stray asbestos fibers often end up in talc-containing products, such as makeup and talcum powder. 

Whether or not asbestos use was intentional, a nationwide mesothelioma lawyer can obtain compensation for asbestosis and other asbestos exposure-related diseases.

Mesothelioma victims need and deserve significant compensation. For a confidential consultation with an experienced nationwide mesothelioma lawyer, contact the Throneberry Law Group. Virtual, home, and after-hours visits are available.