It is a fantastically useful material, except for all the mesothelioma.
Seriously, except for the horrific issues with the stuff, it would be an essential material for various applications.
Its resistance to fire, heat transfer, etc would do wonders for insulation and construction.
Makes me wonder if it could be treated in some way to make it not-so-inhalable. Though maybe we have better synthetic alternatives by now.
As I've understood it, the problem is primarily for the people having to manufacture products using it, and at rest it's supposed to be inert.
Except that people don't always recognize it and end up drilling holes in it or sawing through it
Don't forget about when it's time to un-make it.
Tearing down old building or tiles containing asbestos is also a huge issue.
So many people were exposed to asbestos dust in New York when the world trade centre towers were destroyed by terrorists
It’s supposed to be it tends to get brittle and fracture creating airborne shards that you can breath in but your body can’t break down and that continuously damages the cells leading to cancer.
Doesn't burn, really hard to wear out, you can just dig it out of the ground, easy to shape and repair.
Except it kills people, and it hurts the whole time they're dying.
"If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you may be entitled to compensation..."
Time to move to the glorious nation of Kazakhstan, the top producer of potassium, to get some of those magic minerals to protect my countless buildings.
Very Nice!!!
Aw fuck, I knew I remembered that shit from childhood.
Something something you may be entitled to compensation
How are you still alive?
Probably because symptoms of mesothelioma take decades to develop, and I only encountered that stuff around a few holiday seasons in my earliest memories.
I had to reinsulate my attic a few years ago and I found about five different types of insulation up there (I have an old house) ... I had to do a bunch of research on this stuff and figure out what I had ... thankfully I was ok but I found this in my search online
Oh my god. Blue asbestos is the worst kind, or best if mesothelioma is your thing. Every single one of the people in that picture died from pulmonary issues.
My grandparents old farm had an asbestos carpet under their current carpet. I'm very very happy I was around to spot that, and for having audited a lot of abatement companies.
It also had asbestos roofing, but at least we weren't about to rip that up by hand
But like, why asbestos?
Why can't they shovel sand or dirt or something?
To make people believe it was safe. They knew it wasn't, so they manipulated public opinion with marketing stunts.
"Of course it's safe! Look how safe it is! It's fun for the whole family! What do you think we are, monsters?"
They're going to say the same about plastic
Plastic is not very reactive. This property makes it generally not directly harmful to organic health, but also notoriously slow to decompose, causing huge amounts of pollution. I think it's misleading to compare it to asbestos.
From what I gather, asbestos is also very stable and not reactive. Asbestosis is caused by tiny fibers physically tearing your lungs.
It's unlikely that plastic is as dangerous (we'd seen it by now) but its buildup can likewise cause some condition.
To be clear, asbestos is less reactive than plastic (particularly most thermoplastics) by a wide margin. One burns, the other will not. Asbestos is closer to glass. It requires incredibly high temperatures to turn it into glass as a matter of fact, as that's about the only way to dispose of it permanently.
Treat your taste kindly with KENT, the cigarette with the NEW Micronite filter!
^^Micronite ^^is ^^asbestos.
Oh oh, I've got one too. It's not containing Asbestos but Thorium (or Radium respectively) tho.
"Doramad radioactive toothpaste"
"Creates natural freshness in the mouth!"
"Special biological healing effects by radium rays. A thousand times medically prescribed and recommended."
"What does Doramad do? Through its radioactivity, it increases the defenses of teeth and gums. The cells are charged with a new vigorous life energy, which inhibits bacteria in their destructive ability. Hence the exquisite prevention and healing effect on gum diseases. Polishes enamel to the softest shiny white. Prevents tartar approach. Good foam, new taste, pleasant, mild and refreshing. Use extensively."
Quick disclaimer: The last two quotes can be found on Wikipedia but they are not backed up with sources.
It's because of that kind of thing that I'm always skeptical of startups bringing new and shiny things, that weren't properly studied or tested, and promising to revolutionize something.
turbocancer sticks!
now with better flavour!
God: "I'll make a wonder material. Fire proof. Strong. Insulating. Just dig it up from the ground. Common a fuck. Waterproof."
"Then they can all get cancer the cunts"
"Okay I'm done shit posting for now. Where's that big tittie blonde gone"
my garage, the old fence, and a good chunk of my house is asbestos.
They've been standing 60 years and you wouldn't know it.
Damn shame we can't use the material. Proof god hates us.
My dad was a contractor and he had a big sheet of it in the garage that was leftover from some job. It looked kind of like a sheet of drywall, but was grey and rougher. I used to take it into the back yard with a little blow torch and and lay on it while I melted metal things. I was probably ten to twelve at the time.
It was a different time.
I'm pretty sure we could go back to using it, with more precautions in place, better binders, etc. Hell, it's still used in many parts of the world, and it occurs naturally all over the fucking place. But, alas, lawyers would have to stop salivating at every mention of the word.
In geoscience, we started using the word asbestoform to describe minerals with fibrous habits so we don't get lawyers showing up to destroy all of our rock samples and turn every geoscience facility into a superfund site.
I'm pretty sure we could go back to using it, with more precautions in place, better binders, etc. Hell, it's still used in many parts
Is there a way to keep it inert when the next homeowner starts tearing down drywall and drilling holes in stuff?
"Asbestos was first synthesized by the master magi Mesothelioma. He was looking for a way to slowly poison the local villages without easy detection, and ended up creating one of the most common robe linings found today.
Mesothelioma is remembered long after his passing, though not fondly. If you, or a loved one, has been harmed by the creations of Dark Lord Mesothelioma, Sending us today..."
magic population control
A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.
Rules
