Asbestos in Textiles Historical Applications
topic
Asbestos textile products including woven fabrics, braided cords, and felts made from chrysotile and crocidolite yarns were used extensively until the 1980s in fire protection blankets, furnace door curtains, pipe insulation wrapping, brake lining friction materials, theatre safety curtains, and gaskets, with spinning and weaving of asbestos yarns representing a high-exposure occupation now known to carry severe mesothelioma risk.
Role
Documents the historical applications of asbestos in textile products that created the occupational exposure cohorts from which asbestos carcinogenicity epidemiology was established, providing the contextual framework within which modern mineral fibre substitutes including ceramic fibre, glass fibre, and aramid fire protection textiles were developed to replace asbestos while delivering equivalent or superior thermal and mechanical performance.