Asbestos
Asbestos
A commercial term applied to silicate minerals that separate readily into thin, strong fibers that are flexible, heat resistant, and chemically inert, thus making them suitable for uses (as in yarn, cloth, paper, paint, brake linings, tiles, insulation, cement, fillers, and filters) where incombustible, nonconducting, or chemically resistant material is required. Since the early 1970's, there have been serious enviromental concerns about the potential health hazards of asbestos products, which has resulted in strong enviromental regulations.
Any asbestiform mineral of the serpentine group (chrysotile, best adapted for spinning and the principal variety in commerce) or amphibole group (esp. actinolite, anthophyllite, gedrite, cummingtonite, grunerite, riebeckite, and tremolite).