8 Interesting Facts About Asbestos

Asbestos has a long and surprising history. Once praised for its strength, heat resistance and insulating properties, it is now recognised as one of Britain’s most serious occupational health hazards. Here are eight important and unusual facts that show why asbestos must still be treated with care.

1. Asbestos is naturally occurring

Asbestos is not a man-made material. It is the name given to a group of naturally occurring fibrous silicate minerals formed within certain types of rock.

People have used asbestos for centuries. Archaeological evidence suggests that asbestos fibres were incorporated into some ancient ceramics, while historical accounts describe fire-resistant cloth that could be cleaned by placing it in a fire. Large-scale mining and industrial use, however, expanded dramatically during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Because asbestos can occur close to other mineral deposits, it has also occasionally been found as a contaminant in materials such as talc.

2. A Canadian town was once called Asbestos

A mining town in Quebec, Canada, was officially named Asbestos because of its close association with the nearby Jeffrey Mine, once one of the world’s largest asbestos mines.

The town changed its name to Val-des-Sources in 2020 following a public consultation. The former name remains an extraordinary reminder of how important asbestos mining once was to local economies.

Another major asbestos-mining town, Asbest, still exists in Russia beside one of the world’s largest open-pit asbestos mines.

3. The health dangers were recognised more than a century ago

Concerns about asbestos dust and workers’ health were being recorded by the beginning of the twentieth century. Reports from factory inspectors and medical professionals increasingly linked dusty asbestos-processing conditions with serious respiratory illness.

Despite this evidence, asbestos use continued to expand for many decades. Its fire resistance, strength and insulating qualities made it commercially valuable, while the diseases caused by exposure often took many years to appear.

4. Nellie Kershaw’s death helped change asbestos regulation

Nellie Kershaw was an English textile worker who died in 1924 at the age of 33 after working with asbestos. A post-mortem examination found extensive lung damage associated with asbestos exposure.

Her case became one of the earliest formally documented occupational deaths connected with asbestos. Subsequent medical research and a government inquiry contributed to the Asbestos Industry Regulations 1931, which introduced controls including dust extraction and the separation of asbestos processes from other working areas.

5. Asbestos was used as artificial snow in old films

Loose asbestos was once sold as decorative artificial snow because it was white, lightweight and resistant to fire. It was used for Christmas displays and on some film sets before its dangers were fully understood.

The artificial snow used during the poppy-field sequence in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz is widely reported to have contained chrysotile asbestos. The practice is a striking example of how casually asbestos-containing products were once handled.

6. Mesothelioma deaths exceeded road fatalities in Great Britain in 2024

Asbestos-related diseases remain a present-day threat because they can take decades to develop.

The Health and Safety Executive recorded 2,146 mesothelioma deaths in Great Britain in 2024. In the same year, Department for Transport figures recorded 1,602 fatalities in reported road collisions across Great Britain.

Mesothelioma is only one asbestos-related disease. Exposure can also cause asbestosis, asbestos-related lung cancer and other serious conditions. HSE estimates that asbestos-related diseases cause around 5,000 deaths in Great Britain each year.

7. Britain imported more than five million tonnes of asbestos

Britain imported vast quantities of asbestos during the twentieth century. Historical import records indicate that the total exceeded five million tonnes before the final UK prohibition on asbestos came into force in 1999.

Much of that material was installed in homes, workplaces, factories, schools and public buildings. Although asbestos is no longer legally supplied or installed, large quantities remain within buildings constructed or refurbished before 2000.

Asbestos that is in good condition and properly managed may not present an immediate danger. The risk increases when asbestos-containing materials are damaged, deteriorate or are disturbed during maintenance, refurbishment or demolition.

8. Asbestos was used in thousands of different products

Asbestos was incorporated into thousands of products because it was strong, flexible and resistant to heat, chemicals and electricity.

Common examples include asbestos insulation board, sprayed coatings, pipe insulation, cement roof sheets, roof slates, floor tiles, textured coatings, gaskets, ropes, brake components and fire-resistant fabrics. It was also used in a variety of less obvious domestic and industrial products.

This wide range of uses is why asbestos cannot always be identified reliably by sight. If a building was constructed or refurbished before 2000 and suspect material may be disturbed, appropriate investigation and testing should be treated as a priority.

Call Plymouth Asbestos Services on 01752 660066 for professional advice or to arrange an asbestos survey, sampling, removal or collection service.

Sources: Health and Safety Executive mesothelioma statistics for Great Britain, 2026; HSE introduction to asbestos safety; Department for Transport reported road casualties Great Britain, 2024.