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Asbestos is the name of a group of minerals with long, thin fibers. It was once used widely as insulation. It also occurs in the environment. Asbestos fibers are so small you can't see them. Disturbing asbestos can cause fibers to float in the air. When this happens, they are easy to inhale. You breathe out most fibers, but some become lodged in the lungs. Over time, they can build up in the lungs, causing scarring and inflammation. This can eventually affect breathing and lead to disease, such as
Lung diseases associated with asbestos usually develop over many years. Smoking cigarettes increases the risk.
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
{|align=right | |- | |} '''Asbestos''' (Greek a-, "not"; sbestos, "extinguishable") is a group of fibrous metamorphic rocks. The name is derived for its historical use in lamp wicks; the resistance of asbestos to fire has long been exploited for a variety of purposes. It was used in fabrics such as Egyptian burial cloths and Charlemagne's tablecloth, which, according to legend, he threw in a fire to clean. When asbestos is used for its resistance to fire or heat, the fibers are typically mixed with cement or woven into fabric or mats. It was used in brake shoes and gaskets for its heat resistance, on electric oven and hotplate wiring for its electrical insulation at elevated temperature, and in buildings for its flame-retardant and insulating properties, its tensile strength, flexibility, and resistance to chemicals. However, the inhalation of asbestos fibers is now known to cause various illnesses, including cancer, and thus most uses of asbestos are banned in many countries. Fiberglass has been found to be a suitable substitute for thermal insulation and woven ceramic fiber performs as well or better as an insulator of high-temperature electrical conductors. Most respirable asbestos fibers are invisible to the unaided human eye because their size is about 3.0-20.0 Micrometre in length and can be as thin as 0.01 µm. Fibers ultimately form because when these minerals originally cooled and crystallized, they formed by the polymeric molecules lining up parallel with each other and forming oriented crystal lattices. These crystals thus have three cleavage planes as other minerals and gemstones have. But in their case, there are two cleavage planes ... [ Read More ]
EnTech Supply - Commercial HEPA vacuums for containing asbestos, allergens, lead based paint and hazardous dust.
Environmental Microbiology Laboratory - Providing environmental microbiology, chemistry, asbestos, lead, mold, bacteria, silica, indoor air quality, materials and forensic analysis. Full service testing laboratory since 1981.
EMSL Analytical, Inc. - Environmental Microbiology Laboratory EMSL Analytical, Inc. is the leading indoor air quality testing laboratory . Testing biological materials and contaminants in air, surface, water and soil samples. Our specialty includes identification and analysis of mold, fungi, bacteria, bioaerosols, asbestos, mold, silica, formaldehyde and allergens.
Anatek Labs, Inc - Environmental laboratory testing for drinking water, wastewater, soil, petroleum, pesticides, metals, hazardous waste, asbestos and bacterial contamination. Facilities in Spokane, Washington and Moscow, Idaho.
LA Testing - Analytical laboratory providing environmental testing to determine the presence of asbestos or lead in air, bulk, dust, soil, and water, for residential, governmental, and corporate clients. NVLAP, CA-ELAP, TX-DOH and AZ-DOH accredited.
National Analytical Laboratories, Inc. - Profile of testing and consulting company, with expertise in the mold, asbestos and lead industries. Includes home visits from Fair Oaks, CA.
EnviroHealth Technologies - Offers AIHA accredited testing and consulting for asbestos, lead and other hazards in industrial hygiene and wastes, at laboratory in St. Louis, MO.
Moldlaboratory.com - Offer cleanup, mold abatement, mold analysis, asbestos analysis, lead based paint sample analysis in Los Angeles, CA.
PAR Laboratories, Inc. - Company profile, instrumentation of EPA certified lab, specializing in water, wastewater, soil, asbestos, and petroleum products at Charlotte, NC.
Analytical Laboratory Services, Inc. - ALSI performs sampling and testing in support of environmental monitoring projects on soil, water, solid waste, as well as industrial hygiene such as lead, asbestos and air quality, at Middletown,PA.