Asbestos is a general name that applies to several types of fibrous silicate minerals. Historically, the word asbestos comes from the Greek meaning inextinguishable, or indestructible. Being best known for its properties of strong, flexible, and heat resistant, asbestos has been used since ancient times by the Romans for making cloths and lamp wicks.
The Greeks also wove the material into cloth. In the Middle Ages, asbestos was used for insulating suits of armor. Lately, the United States started producing asbestos for doing insulation for boilers, fireboxes and pipes in steam locomotive, boxcars, cabooses or steam water lines. More modern applications of asbestos take its advantages for producing asbestos-reinforced cement products such as pipes, sheets, or shingles (day dai, that lung) used in building construction. The World War II years saw a greatly using of asbestos for manufacturing ships as well.
Over the years, automotive and construction have been affected by asbestos since the unique fiber may be found in automobiles containing asbestos in clutch and brake linings or homes and buildings used construction materials mixing asbestos such as floor and ceiling tiles, siding, and cement pipes…
“Scientists and historians have estimated that over 3,000 products may have contained asbestos. In addition to industrial, maritime, building, and automotive products, the list includes consumer items such as household appliances and handheld hair dryers. The peak years for asbestos use in the United States were the 1960s and early 1970s, when many of these asbestos–containing products were popular”.
Across Asia and in many developing nations worldwide, Chrysotile is still the dominant fiber used. Important uses are in cement products, wallboards, friction products and textiles due to its preeminent abilities.
There are 17 Asbestos ores found in provinces of Cao Bang, Hoa Binh, Son La, Thanh Hoa, Phu Tho in Vietnam. The total capacity is around 0,37 million tons but not for exploiting because of low quality. Most of ores given amphibole asbestos and an inappreciable amount of chrysotile asbestos offering no commercial value. Nowadays, chrysotile asbestos is commonly used for producing asbestos cement roofing sheet and being imported from Russia, Kazakhstan.
