Los Peligros de la Nieve de Asbesto

Why did Hollywood choose asbestos to mimic snow?

Until around 1930, the movie industry used a variety of everyday materials when replicating snow for scenes. For example, some would grind indigestion tablets into a fine powder and blow it onto a movie set with big, industrial fans – an effective way to mimic a snowstorm but dreadfully uncomfortable for the actors who had to breathe in the dust. 

Other productions used to paint cornflakes white. This whitened breakfast cereal made for a convincing effect on-screen, but the crunching sound made by actors walking over the flakes disrupted the movie’s sound – unworkable for any producers making ‘talkies’ (movies with sound as opposed to silent films that were common for the era).

One of the most common approaches to replicating snow was to use everyday cotton wool. Special-effects artists would tease balls of cotton wool into snow-like fluffy piles. Cotton wool seemed to solve the conundrum for a time – it was cheap, easy to work with, and produced a believable visual result – but it soon became apparent that it was a considerable fire hazard. Cotton wool is flammable, and working with it under hot studio lights was less than ideal. 

Asbestos ‘snow’ adopted on a grand scale

Once discovered as the ‘perfect solution’ for replicating snow, asbestos was adopted as a snow substitute on a grand scale. Not only did movie sets and theatrical productions use it in large quantities, but it also found its way into department stores and hogares residenciales.

Families were sold chrysotile asbestos (or ‘white’ asbestos) to decorate their homes for the festive season. Chrysotile asbestos is comprised of white fibers that resemble fluffy snow – perfect for sprinkling on trees, wreaths, and Christmas ornaments. Due to the naturaleza ignífuga del mineral, el asbesto también se utilizó para fabricar faldas para árboles de Navidad, manteles y otros artículos festivos.

El riesgo continuo de exposición

Thankfully, the one saving grace regarding the use of asbestos for snow and Christmas trimmings is that it was relatively short-lived. Not long after it became popularized, the second world war brought about a great need for the fire-retardant material on Navy ships, and other military uses. The asbestos shortage prevented its continued use on movie sets. Moviemakers then returned to using cotton wool and from there developed more modern materials that pose no health risk. 

Even though asbestos ‘snow’ is no longer used or manufactured commercially, it still remains present in vintage decorations, and entusiastas de las antigüedades must be vigilant. Some people inevitably still even have it in packets in their lofts or other storage. One of the most popular variants was called ‘Asbestos Pure White Snow.’ If you ever come across this or any other variety of asbestos snow, hand it over to an expert asbestos contractor without disturbing the contents. 

Obtenga más información sobre los peligros del asbesto en las antigüedades aquí y descargue una infografía gratuita sobre las antigüedades que contienen asbesto.