amosite asbestos

Amosite asbestos also called as brown asbestos, due to its gray to brown color, or Grunerite. Amosite is characterized by its straight brittle fibers and utilized for cement sheeting and pipe insulation. At the height of asbestos' recognition, amosite was truly the second most generally used form of the mineral. Mined in South Africa, numerous mine workers have fallen ill to amosite because it is the second most dangerous form of asbestos.

The amosite variety of asbestos was applied principally as a fire retardant in thermal insulation products, such as ceiling tiles. Brown asbestos is currently banned in most countries and has been for several years. But it can still be found in older products and structures, hence still posing possible hazards particularly because this form of asbestos is very friable. That indicates it crumbles simply when damaged, hence releasing airborne fibers which can then be inhaled by those in the area of the material.

Amosite asbestos is a form of asbestos recognized to cause mesothelioma. It is an amphibole. The crystals vary and could be found as flat prisms, brittle grains, or long thin fibers. The fibers frequently are found in naturally occurring bundles. The long thin threads of amosite are rather flexible and bend to develop wide arches. These long arches of amosite threads break in smaller groups that bring about sharp needlelike fibers.

The last parts of the fibers are flat and do not have frayed or split ends, a feature that assists differentiate amosite from chrysotile. Broken bundles also are often found and look like broom tails in appearance. Parts of the crystal fibers can be identified in a number of building materials that were manufactured with amosite.

As a form of asbestos, amosite has caused a lot of cases of cancer (including mesothelioma) in people of various countries, but particularly near the amosite mines in South Africa, the world's major commercial source of amosite. The workers who mined and processed amosite have cancer rates far worse than those of the wide-ranging population.

Any amosite mineral asbestos employed in the U.S. is most likely from the amosite mines in Transvaal, South Africa. Amosite asbestos was used customarily in thermal insulation products and building products like: ceiling tiles, roof tiles, floor tiles, plumbing insulation, insulation board, chemical insulation, gaskets, lagging, cement sheet, electrical and telecommunication insulation.