Magic Mineral Research Articles

Morris Greenberg: occupational health specialist on a lifelong quest to make the world asbestos free

In 1967 a young doctor, Morris Greenberg, noted that every surface in a London factory was covered in white asbestos dust. Workers without face masks were brushing the floor, churning...

BİNA YIKIM İŞLERİNDE ASBEST MARUZİYETİNİN DEĞERLENDİRİLMESİ

Asbestos is a mineral that has a naturally formed fibrous structure and has been used in different areas for centuries with its resistance to heat and chemicals. Asbestos, which is called "Magic Mineral" in the world, has been used in the production of many products in the textile, automotive and chemical industries, shipbuilding and construction sectors. In the last century, when respiratory illnesses and cancers have been encountered in those who work with asbestos and those who breathe the air mixed with asbestos fibers, Asbestos is called "The Evil Dust", "Killer Dust" in the world, and now it has been named "Killer Dust" in our country. Uncontrolled building demolitions as a result of the start of the Ship Recycling Sector and then the urban transformation activities in our country brought the issue of asbestos to the agenda. Old buildings are demolished by assuming that no asbestos is used, and construction waste is disposed of uncontrolled. This study was carried out in order to reveal that asbestos is used in old buildings, building demolition and renovation works are a great danger for employees and residents, and to provide suggestions for safe removal and demolition of materials found to be asbestos in buildings, and it is also aimed to increase "Asbestos Exposure Awareness".

Invited Lecture 14: From insight to foresight? Some Lessons for 5G from other “new” technologies & agents

Invited Lecture 14: From insight to foresight? Some Lessons for 5G from other “new” technologies & agents

Martinite: An Alternative to Asbestos Insulation Available Since the Nineteenth Century.

The asbestos industry has always claimed that asbestos is a 'magic mineral', which is not replaceable. New findings, however, contradict this because asbestos-free alternatives, with excellent insulating properties, have been available since the end of the nineteenth century. The aim of this current research is to gather evidence of the potential of 'Martinite' to replace asbestos. We identified references to 'Martinite' in documents and brochures pertaining to insulation of ships, dating back as far as possible by acquiring recent interviews, utilizing records in public libraries and in archives, and conducting web searches. Martinite was produced by a small company called 'Manifatture Martiny', founded at the end of the nineteenth century in Turin, Italy. This company was specialized in insulation materials production, such as cork, rubber, foams, and even asbestos. In the early twentieth century, Martinite was utilized in warships of the Royal Italian Navy. During this time, it was patented in Italy and in many other industrialized nations. It was also utilized in construction of civilian power plants and was approved by the Architects Corporation in 1940. Furthermore, it was licenced in 1950 by the Italian National Naval Certification Body (UNAV) to be used on ships. We argue that had Martinite been properly advertised and distributed, it could have been used worldwide in place of asbestos for some applications, resulting in a lower incidence of serious and fatal diseases. The small scale of the company, compared to those of the asbestos multinationals, contributed to the lack of commercial development of the product.

Dietary magnesium: the magic mineral that protects from colon cancer?

Magnesium is an essential cation for many important biological functions such as metabolism, muscle contraction, blood pressure, neurological function, to name just a few. Standard Western diets are low in magnesium due to the plethora of refined foods and the often low intake of fruit and vegetables. As a consequence, a modest to mild hypomagnesemia is observed in a large number of individuals [1]. A Korean research group [2] recently conducted a meta-analysis of epidemiological studies aimed at [...]

A tale of two asbestos giants: Corporate reports as (auto)biography

Annual reports are situated artefacts which relate a longitudinal grand narrative or corporate (auto)biography. This paper explores the narrative reporting of two former asbestos manufacturers, Turner & Newall in the UK and James Hardie in Australia. Asbestos features prominently in the industrial expansion and decline of both companies as the toxic health effects of this ‘magic mineral’ became evident over time. This paper finds evidence of several distinct phases of reporting of asbestos, from reporting it as a source of unmitigated value, to a source of risk and finally as a threat to corporate viability. Each stage erased or re-situated the prior story of asbestos so that users of individual annual reports may be unaware of the grand narrative of asbestos in its transformation from ‘magic mineral to killer dust’.

Ban Asbestos Phenomenon: The Winds of Change

The shift in the public perception of asbestos from "magic mineral" to "deadly dust" owes much to the mobilization by asbestos victims, ban-asbestos activists, health and safety campaigners, and individuals concerned about the global asbestos death toll. Cognizant of the proven links between asbestos and disease, governments of industrialized countries banned further use, as a result of which consumption shifted to developing countries; between 2000 and 2010, asbestos use in Asia grew dramatically. In the face of a powerful industry lobby, members of the ban-asbestos network have lobbied national governments to outlaw asbestos use, challenged industry propaganda, and cooperated with social partners on coordinated multinational initiatives. Major developments in the campaign to end the mining, sale, and use of asbestos which have taken place over the last 50 years are delineated in this paper.

The asbestos disease epidemic: here today, here tomorrow

In what may be the best ever use of a Wellcome grant, Geoffrey Tweedale, in his fascinating history of the multinational asbestos company Turner & Newall,1 reminds us that asbestos was once known as the ‘magic mineral’. Indeed, in many ways, it is the ideal construction material: tough, durable, light in weight, fire-resistant and very cheap. Unfortunately, asbestos is also, as every respiratory physician knows, highly toxic when inhaled. Total bans on its use are in place in 52 countries including those of the European Union, Australia, Japan and South Africa2; and its use is tightly restricted in the USA, New Zealand and Canada—the last, ironically, among the world's largest exporters of the material. Readers from these countries may be surprised to learn that elsewhere the production, sale and use of asbestos continue to flourish and even increase. In 1994, one of us (NP) edited a book3 on occupational cancer in developing countries for the International Agency for Research on Cancer and reported that global asbestos production and use had not declined; rather, the problem was simply being moved from Western countries to emergent economies. Unhappily, the situation has not improved in the intervening 17 years. In India, for example, the use of asbestos has doubled in the last decade to about 300 000 tonnes a year by an industry that now employs an estimated 100 000 workers.4 Other major users include China, Brazil, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Indonesia. In these parts of the world, where occupational exposures may be difficult to control and enforce, the great majority of …

Coalinga Chrysotile under the Microscope

It is not often that I tie an editorial to papers in the journal but since so much of this issue is the work of one author and concerned with scientific minutiae of an asbestos type some explanation is necessary. I last wrote on the subject some 4 years ago [1] and for the same reasons. The new work presented here is the final chapters of a major study which has focused on many aspects of a particular type of ‘‘white’’ asbestos otherwise known as chrysotile. More specifically, Coalinga chrysotile which is found in California. For those who have little knowledge of ‘‘asbestos’’ the most reasonable question to ask at this point is ‘‘why’’? Why does one compound, albeit widely used, deserve such detailed examination. The answers are several. For well over a century ‘‘white’’ asbestos has been mined and exported and made into a variety of products that exploit its particular desirable properties. It is everywhere in our built environments. Once upon a time it was called the ‘‘magic mineral’’. Unfortunately, the passage of time has shown serious problems and there is a dark side to this. Chrysotile is not particularly durable or biopersistent in the body but there are durable, biopersistent, mineral fibers which, if of a certain size, may cause very undesirable pathology in people. Serious illness, particularly cancer, can result from exposure to the fibrous forms of some amphibole minerals, particularly those commonly known as ‘‘blue’’ and ‘‘brown’’ asbestos. Much of this pathology can also be caused by chrysotile but the levels of exposure required are very much higher. For chrysotile there is a very definite and calculable threshold of effect. Occupational exposure is the only likely source of high exposure to chrysotile today. However, strict controls in place in just about every country should ensure that high exposures would be unlikely, against regulations and illegal. In consequence, such exposure and the possible health effects means that in most countries they can now be regarded as historical. So, the question ‘‘why’’ expands to ‘‘why should chrysotile, exposure to which is highly regulated, be considered with these far more dangerous, highly biopersistent minerals’’. Minerals so unlike chrysotile in their behavior in the body, and quite unlike the type of chrysotile discussed here which, in animal experiments has the half-life of its longer fibers less than a day and for the shorter ones just 1 week [2]. Geology is not a simple science and neither is the associated mineralogy. This muddies the waters somewhat. One problem is that some amphibole minerals are found in close association with chrysotile, although this is not the case with the chrysotile in question [3]. Also, the fibrous amphiboles and chrysotile were, in the past, lumped together for commercial reasons and all given the name ‘‘asbestos’’. That they sometimes had different uses and were disparate in their action on the body was largely disregarded and today the generic term is a delight to plaintiff ’s lawyers to whom all asbestos minerals are ‘‘asbestos’’ and the individuality of the various minerals is of no consequence. One guilty, all guilty except that if science is allowed to enter the argument it ceases to be so clear cut. And so, if lawyers have their way, it almost never is which is why I am publishing these three papers. They give some more scientific underpinning to add to the

Magic Mineral to Killer Dust: Turner & Newall and the Asbestos Hazard (review)

Magic Mineral to Killer Dust: Turner & Newall and the Asbestos Hazard (review)

TWEEDALE, Geoffrey. Magic Mineral to Killer Dust. Turner a Newall and the Asbestos Hazard

TWEEDALE, Geoffrey. Magic Mineral to Killer Dust. Turner a Newall and the Asbestos Hazard

A Metabolic Fairy Tale: The Search for the Magic Mineral

A Metabolic Fairy Tale: The Search for the Magic Mineral

Asbestos: a chronology of its origins and health effects.

The emotionalised subject of asbestos is treated in chronological terms: how the "magic mineral" known in ancient times in Europe and Asia became in the late nineteenth century an important industrial resource of particular interest to the navies of the world; and how its malign effects gradually became apparent during the present century. The media have made asbestos a notorious villain, but it still has properties and applications useful to society if they are properly controlled in the same way as other industrial hazards. One important application is the manufacture of asbestos cement pipes which are a convenient and cheap method of providing water supplies and sewage disposal for developing countries. An appeal is made for prudence and not hysteria in relation to the use of mineral fibres of all types.

QUARTZ—THE MAGIC MINERAL

School Science and MathematicsVolume 37, Issue 4 p. 416-424 QUARTZ—THE MAGIC MINERAL Glen W. Warner, Glen W. Warner Wilson Junior College, Chicago, IllinoisSearch for more papers by this author Glen W. Warner, Glen W. Warner Wilson Junior College, Chicago, IllinoisSearch for more papers by this author First published: April 1937 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1949-8594.1937.tb11270.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume37, Issue4April 1937Pages 416-424 RelatedInformation