> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://goodoil.news/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Asbestos: How Did We Get Here? - URL: https://goodoil.news/asbestos-how-did-we-get-here/ - Published: 2025-03-04T00:00:35.000Z - Updated: 2025-03-04T00:00:34.000Z - Description: An estimated 4000 people still die from asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma each year. What exactly is it and how did it end up in one in three Aussie homes? - Author: Reproduced with permission - Tags: Health, History [**Owen Cumming**](https://particle.scitech.org.au/earth/particle-101-asbestos/?ref=goodoil.news) *Science communicator* The word ‘asbestos’ elicits feelings of concern – or even fear – when we hear it. Without knowing exactly what it *is*, most of us will say it’s Bad Stuff™. But why is it so bad? And why was something so dangerous so commonplace in Australian homes? **FIRE RESISTANCE** Asbestos is a group of six silicate minerals with fibrous crystals that can be woven into fabrics and other materials. While asbestos fibres have many textile uses such as[ strengthening pottery](https://theconversation.com/from-a-magic-mineral-to-the-stuff-of-nightmares-a-6-700-year-history-of-asbestos-223972?ref=goodoil.news#:~:text=Researchers%20have%20found%20ancient%20clay,been%20dated%20to%204700%20BC.), it is best known for its remarkable fire resistance. ![](https://particle.scitech.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Caption-Crocidolite-blue-asbestos-from-Pomfret-Mine-Vryburg-South-Africa-1-1024x780.jpg) ***Caption: Crocidolite (blue asbestos) from Pomfret Mine, Vryburg, South Africa Credit: Raimond Spekking CC BY-SA 4.0** Over thousands of years, this[ unsingeable material](https://www.asbestos.com/asbestos/history/?ref=goodoil.news) has been used to make: - shrouds for cremating Greek kings - flamboyant Persian party trick napkins - unquenchable oil lamp wicks - fire-proof tablecloths for clumsy Frenchmen - Italian banknotes - flaming trebuchet projectiles. It is so impervious to fire that ancient Persian stories claimed it came from the fur of[ mythical fire-bathing salamanders](https://www.wessexarch.co.uk/news/salamanders-and-lung-disease-history-asbestos?ref=goodoil.news). ![](https://particle.scitech.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Caption-The-salamander-living-in-the-fire-as-it-is-represented-in-the-esoteric-text-Atalanta-Fugiens.png) ***Caption: The salamander living in the fire as it is represented in the esoteric text Atalanta Fugiens Credit: Michel Maier, 1617** During the Industrial Revolution, asbestos started being used en masse. Developers recognised its strength as a building material and the value of its resistance to chemicals, heat and electricity. Industrial-scale asbestos mines popped up all over the world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Australia became one of the highest producers and consumers of asbestos products. In the 1930s, the [WA town of Wittenoom](https://asbestosdiseases.org.au/information/wittenoom-overview/?ref=goodoil.news) was one of the world’s largest asbestos mines. **DANGER IN THE AIR** The terrible human cost of this ‘wonder material’ was revealed over the course of the 20th century. Mesothelioma, an extremely aggressive type of lung cancer, became rampant among people who had inhaled asbestos particles. In Australia, the mining, production and use of asbestos products caused[ hundreds of thousands of deaths](https://www.asbestossafety.gov.au/sites/asea/files/documents/2017-12/ASEA%5FNational%5FAsbestos%5FProfile%5Finteractive%5FNov17.pdf?ref=goodoil.news). An estimated [4000 people still die from asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma each year](https://www.asbestos.nsw.gov.au/health-risks/asbestos-related-health-conditions?ref=goodoil.news). ![](https://particle.scitech.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Caption-Left-sided-mesothelioma-seen-on-the-right-of-the-image-chest-CT.jpg) ***Caption: Left-sided mesothelioma (seen on the right of the image) chest CT Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0** Despite Australian medical professionals recording the health impacts of asbestos as early as[ 1897](https://www.asbestos.com/asbestos/history/?ref=goodoil.news) (not to mention the Romans figuring it out nearly[ 2000 years ago](https://www.mesotheliomahelp.org/asbestos/history/?ref=goodoil.news)), little was done to protect Australian miners or construction workers until the 1960s. Even then, asbestos products weren’t completely banned until 2003. **A LASTING LEGACY** It’s unclear why there was such a lengthy delay between the medical information becoming available and when legislation was put in place. Did the[ multibillion dollar global asbestos industry](https://www.asbestos.com/featured-stories/cover-up/?ref=goodoil.news) have anything to do with it? Even now, hundreds of[ DIYers](https://www.asbestossafety.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2020-11/NGR%202005014%20DIY%20Home%20Renovations%20-%20Research%20Report.pdf?ref=goodoil.news) are exposed to asbestos each year – not to mention that the once thriving town of Wittenoom is the largest contamination site in the southern hemisphere. ![](https://particle.scitech.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Caption-State-government-warning-sign-near-the-entrance-to-Wittenoom-township-in-Western-Australia-1024x768.jpg) ***Caption: State government warning sign near the entrance to Wittenoom township in Western Australia Credit:** [***Five Years**](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Five%5FYears?ref=goodoil.news) [***CC BY-SA 3.0**](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0?ref=goodoil.news) Asbestos has left a terrible legacy in Australia, but pioneering research is being done right here in WA to treat mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. [WA Premier’s Student Scientist Award winner Nicola Principe’s research](https://particle.scitech.org.au/people/wa-premiers-student-scientist-award-2024-nicola-principe/?ref=goodoil.news) looks for ways to boost the body’s natural response to the cancer and complement existing chemotherapy treatments. Hopefully, we are finally beginning to move beyond the impact of this fireproof poison. This article was originally published by [Particle](https://particle.scitech.org.au/earth/particle-101-asbestos/?ref=goodoil.news).