Asbestos Learning Center / Types of Asbestos

Types of Asbestos

What is Asbestos?

The term asbestos refers to a group of related silicate minerals.
Different asbestos mineral forms have different colors, appearances and fibers.

All types of asbestos are durable. They are resistant to heat, corrosion, electricity and sound.² That is why most asbestos types were used so widely in industry and homes.
All asbestos types can break up into fibers or particles and be inhaled or swallowed. But none of the types of asbestos fibers have any smell or taste. So if anybody asks you, “Does asbestos smell?” The answer is a flat NO.

People do not always know they are breathing or swallowing asbestos fibers in the air.
All types of asbestos fibers can stay in the body forever.
Asbestos does not evaporate or dissolve in water. It is durable, and resists corrosion.

Once inside the body, asbestos fibers can cause damage over time, and lead to asbestos-related illnesses decades later.

Asbestos is divided into two main groups, based on the shape of the mineral’s fibers.

Serpentine Asbestos

Serpentine asbestos has curly fibers.

Amphibole Asbestos

Amphibole asbestos has straight, needle-like fibers.

Various types of asbestos were widely used in different ways.

Name	Color	Mineral Family	Fiber Type	Use in industry
CHRYSOTILE (Most commonly used form of asbestos) Chrysotile is the main cause of the terminal cancer known as mesothelioma.³	White Asbestos	Serpentine	Curly, matted together	Floors, roofs, ceilings and walls Brake pads and linings Clutches Asphalt Cement Gaskets Plastics Rubber Textiles
AMOSITE	Brown Asbestos	Amphibole	Thick, straight and sharp Naturally found in bundles Particularly strong and heating resistant	Plumbing and electrical insulation Roofing Ceiling tiles Cement Gaskets Fire protection
CROCIDOLITE	Blue asbestos	Amphibole	Thin, straight brittle fibers make this a particularly dangerous asbestos type: Brittleness makes it easily broken up and inhaled or swallowed. Thin fibers get easily lodged into body tissue.	Plumbing insulation Cement Plastics Spray-on coating
ANTHOPHYLLITE	Dull green, grey, brown or white asbestos	Amphibole		Cement Building materials Insulation products Also found as a contaminant in chrysotile asbestos.
TREMOLITE	White, brown, gray, green or transparent.	Amphibole	Sharp fibers that can be woven. Easily airborne and inhaled or swallowed.	Found as a contaminant in chrysotile asbestos (as well as talc and vermiculite). Not used commercially.
ACTINOLITE	White, brown, gray, green or transparent.	Amphibole	Sharp fibers that can be woven. Easily airborne and inhaled.	Found as a contaminant in chrysotile asbestos (as well as talc and vermiculite). Not used commercially.

Why is asbestos exposure so dangerous to a person’s health?

Asbestos is extremely durable.

The word asbestos means ‘indestructible’ in ancient Greek.

And for over 2000 years, humans have used asbestos for its remarkable durability:

Asbestos does not easily melt, corrode, dissolve, evaporate, decompose or conduct electricity.
Asbestos is tremendously strong and withstands intense pressure and friction.
Asbestos also breaks up easily into fibers, and can be woven into a highly-resistant fabric.
Asbestos can also be sprayed on surfaces or ground and mixed with other substances to strengthen them, and make them resistant to fire, friction, corrosion, electricity and sound.

People do not immediately feel the harm of asbestos.

Asbestos fibers can be microscopic. Asbestos has no taste or smell.

People can breathe in or swallow asbestos without knowing.

When asbestos fibers are inhaled or swallowed, they can embed in tissue, irritating and damaging it over time.

Embedded asbestos fibers are highly durable and resistant, and do not dissolve.
Over time, these small, durable asbestos fibers can cause health problems.
The fibers are like tiny needles, puncturing and tearing at the lungs and other tissue. Scar tissue builds up, causing symptoms like coughing, breathing difficulty and a diminished lung capacity.
Eventually all the scarring and damage caused by asbestos fibers embedded in the lung and pleura can lead to chronic illnesses, some fatal. In addition to asbestosis and pulmonary fibrosis, the embedded fibers can cause mesothelioma and other cancers.
Swallowing asbestos can damage the digestive system, even causing stomach and colon cancer.

[Asbestos] fibers can remain in place for a very long time and may never be removed.

Most of the harmful impacts of asbestos will not be seen immediately.

They often develop years after exposure occurs.

– American Lung Association⁴

Asbestos exposure can cause a variety of diseases and health problems.

Research into the health effects of asbestos has established conclusively that inhaling asbestos can lead to significant and malignant illnesses, including aggressive cancers like mesothelioma and lung cancer, as well as other potentially-fatal diseases.

Scientific research strongly suggests that there is no safe level of asbestos exposure.

People exposed to asbestos in their twenties have developed asbestos-related illnesses forty or fifty years later.⁵

Asbestos exposure can also cause breathing problems, asbestosis and other non-malignant health problems. While these conditions are not always life-threatening, they are often painful and not curable.

Even cancers caused by other factors like smoking may be aggravated and intensified by asbestos damage to the body.

If you have symptoms of asbestos-related illness, speak to a healthcare professional.

The Law Offices of Justinian C. Lane, Esq. – PLLC

Millions of workers and their families were exposed to asbestos because the asbestos industry hid the dangers of its product.

Courts ordered that billions of insurance dollars be placed in trusts to compensate people with asbestos-related illnesses.

But many people with asbestos-related illnesses who were exposed to asbestos do not know they qualify for compensation.

Most can receive money without filing a lawsuit.

Justinian Means Justice.

We have helped thousands of people receive compensation for health issues that they developed from asbestos exposure.

If you have symptoms of asbestos-related illness, speak to a healthcare professional.

The Environmental Protection Agency has stated that people can still be exposed to asbestos at buildings like worksites and even homes, because the amount of asbestos remaining is still unknown.⁶

Our firm constantly monitors the most up-to-date health research on asbestos. We use it to update our database to develop and strengthen our asbestos claims for our clients.

Our archival database has virtually all available information on asbestos use and its health effects. If you think you may have worked with asbestos, we can check your worksite or the products you worked with on our database

Asbestos never leaves the body.

Asbestos can cause these health problems even if your asbestos exposure took place forty or fifty years ago. Symptoms can take decades to appear.

Applying for asbestos trust fund compensation is not getting into a fight.

This money was set aside in a trust account for those who were injured.

Applying for a payment from these trusts is not affecting any company or coming out of anyone’s pocket. This is insurance money specifically to help people hurt by asbestos.

The court ordered the funds because the asbestos industry could no longer hide its secret: asbestos is very dangerous to breathe.

Justinian C. Lane, Esq.

My grandfather, grandmother and father were all exposed to asbestos in their work, and all three died of respiratory-related cancers.

I found out too late about the health effects of asbestos to help them.

But my firm has helped many other people receive compensation for health problems they developed from exposure to asbestos.

Call, text or email us for a completely free consultation with no obligation. I will listen to the details of your story, and explain your options. We only work on contingency, so we only get paid if you do.

Every case is different, but the Law Offices of Justinian C. Lane, Esq. – PLLC has obtained large settlements for thousands of people harmed by asbestos. This compensation has helped ease our clients’ financial burdens, and offers a legacy to leave for their loved ones.

At AsbestosClaims.Law, we’ve helped thousands of people who were exposed to asbestos in their job, car or at home.

Can we help you?

1 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Public Health Statement for Asbestos. September 2001. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
2 Sound absorption quality used to find asbestos – G. Bonifazi, G. Capobianco and S. Serranti, “Hyperspectral imaging applied to the identification and classification of asbestos fibers,” 2015 IEEE SENSORS, Busan, Korea (South), 2015, pp. 1-4, doi: 10.1109/ICSENS.2015.7370458.
3 Chrysotile is the Main Cause of Pleural Mesothelioma, Alan H Smith and Catherine C. Wright, American Journal of Industrial Medicine (1996).
4 The American Lung Association, Clean Air, Asbestos.
5 An Evaluation of Reported No-Effect Chrysotile Asbestos Exposures for Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma, Jennifer S. Pierce, Meg A. McKinley, Dennis J. Paustenbach & Brent L. Finley, Critical Views In Toxicology (2008).
6 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Toxicological Profile for Asbestos. September 2001. Retrieved March 15, 2021.