Ban on Asbestos

Strong calls are being made in the government lobbies to ban asbestos laden products in countries such as Canada, UK, South Africa and USA. Demands are coming in the form of outright bans, phasing out, placing of stringent rules and limited usage. Despite the persistent calls and known hazards of asbestos these measures will be unsuccessful because of the huge amounts of money involved along with the numerous benefits of asbestos.

The connection of asbestos with huge amounts of money is that it is used in some heavy duty industries in which significant investments are at stake. This investment is done by the industrialists and businessmen that are worth millions of dollars. For instance one heavy duty industry in which asbestos is applied is in the construction and engineering industry.

Construction and Engineering Industry: Asbestos

With new geographical locations being discovered by land surveyors, architects and industrialists, there is tremendous pressure to construct new houses, office buildings and apartment blocks. Besides building new structures, there is a rise in the trend to improve and restore old building structures.

For these buildings asbestos is useful as it is used in roof tiles, floor tiles, geysers, pipe insulation, firebrick, window caulking, duct connections and spray on fire proof insulation. It is also utilized to strengthen the concrete pillars, insulation around boilers and is added in cement mixtures to solidify and reinforce it.

Asbestos Use in the Shipping Industry

Another industry that makes heavy use of asbestos is the shipping industry. The global shipping industry is quite robust and active although it did experience a bit of lull in the interim time period. It is going through a phase of expansion and thus new shipping vessels are being constructed on a massive scale. Shipping is experiencing boom in freight, cruises and oil transportation. It is used to insulate pipes, boilers and engines. All these structures generate a great amount of heat and hence asbestos being heat resistant is used for insulation purposes.

Auto Industry and Asbestos

Asbestos is also used in the auto industry. The industry is involved in the design and production of vehicles. Most of the vehicle makers are located in US, Japan, Germany, Italy, France and South Korea. These vehicle makers make extensive use of asbestos due to its numerous qualities. It has high insulation and tensile strength. A naturally occurring light mineral, it is fire and heat resistant as well. That is why asbestos is used in brake and accelerator pedals, brake pads, clutches and brake drums.

Due to its high usability in crucial heavy industries, it is not possible that asbestos will be completely banned in the world. But it will be continued to be applied in a limited manner as no good substitute has been discovered as yet for asbestos.