1800s Asbestos

The long and sordid history of asbestos use around the world.

The Booming of Asbestos in the 1800s

Besides some of these well-known applications of asbestos, it seems that the full potential of asbestos was under-realized in the centuries prior to the 1800s. This does not mean that asbestos was not used, but it seemed to remain a regional phenomenon for cultures located close to asbestos deposits. Moreover, asbestos was more commonly used in small-scale everyday applications like pottery; the large-scale asbestos production industry we know of today was not yet up and running, but it was quickly coming into view.

“Todas las formas de asbesto son cancerígenas para los humanos”. ¹

The Industrial Revolution was an Asbestos Revolution

It’s not so much this process itself, but the chain reaction of different countries in the following years that really situated asbestos at the heart of the Industrial Revolution. The reason for this is that the shift from hand to machine manufacturing required the need to maintain and protect machines from their intensive manufacturing processes. In other words, machinery, piping, and other components require protection from high heat and fire.

Paving the Way for the Construction Industry

The solution was asbestos, and one of the first industrial examples of this was the use of asbestos to heat-proof steam boilers. This protected machinery from getting too hot, but asbestos was also used to wrap the piping systems of boilers in order to keep water hot. This paved the way for using asbestos in insulation for attics and plumbing later on in the construction industry, as the early usage of asbestos in boiler systems proved the incredible insulating qualities of the mineral. 

Casi todos los edificios construidos antes de mediados de la década de 1980 contenían productos y materiales de construcción de asbesto.

Not only did the circumstance of asbestos mining efforts provide the ability to supply Industrial sites with a fireproofing material to keep their machines running around the clock but the Industrial Revolution also meant that manufacturing technology now existed for asbestos-containing materials. 

This marked the shift from using asbestos in small-scale utility applications like pottery and cloth to high-yield applications like construction and machinery insulation. Asbestos quickly shifted from a primitive resource to an industry-standard in the majority of manufacturing applications.

El asbesto no tiene sabor ni olor.

Es posible que no sepa que lo está respirando.

Henry the Innovator

Johns Manville: The world’s largest asbestos company

One of the most famous (and infamous) companies in asbestos history is Johns-Manville. This company began in the late 1850s with Henry Ward John’s first patented product, asbestos roofing shingles. Ironically, Henry died from what is now believed to be the lung disease asbestosis in 1901, making him one of the first victims of the asbestos-containing products associated with Johns-Manville in the coming decades. 

Perhaps ironically – Henry Johns, founder of the world’s largest asbestos company, died of asbestosis.

Along with the first success of shingles, JM eventually became one of the industry standards for boiler wraps and other asbestos applications that were being popularized in the 1800s. 

Asbestos in Canada

The final important piece in the makings of asbestos’ widespread popularity in the 20th century has to do with the discovery of asbestos in Quebec Canada. This discovery in 1860 led to mining efforts in 1878 at Thetford Mines. While asbestos operations in Canada have since declined within the era of various national bans, Quebec continues to serve as a mining site in the industry.

Lessons to learn from the history of asbestos in the 1800s

While these examples of asbestos in the 1800s may seem like unrelated facts, it is important to consider them from a bird’s eye view. Together, they tell the story of how patenting, mining discoveries and the innovations of the Industrial Revolution paved the way for an explosive wave of production across the world. 

Going into the 1900s, no longer would asbestos be considered a niche industry or a cultural icon. Instead, it would become the industry standard in construction and manufacturing, making it a notorious material in homes, schools, and workplaces. 

Unfortunately, this wave of supply and demand of asbestos made possible by the discoveries and innovations of the 1800s would outpace the supply of medical research. The same companies that made fortunes from the asbestos industry were well aware of the dangers posed to their workers and their customers. 

Unfortunately, this information was ignored and suppressed for much of the 20th century. Thousands who suffer from asbestos-related diseases today can still benefit from the bankruptcy trust funds established by these defunct industry leaders, but the damage has been done. 

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The Miracle Mineral / The Monster Mineral

Many of the once-thriving asbestos mining sites have been dismantled or remain in ruins, but they represent a peculiar era of human history that was only made possible by the fascinating chain of events that took place in the 1800s.