As a matter of historical perspective, I was involved in general insurance in London in the early 1960's when a Dust Disease Levy (DDL) was generally introduced into all Employers' Liability Insurance policies in the UK to fund expected future claims, following the first 'asbestosis' (as it was then called) claims being made against employers. At that time - over fifty years ago -asbestos was seen as a major future health problem and yet we continued and continue (in Canada) to mine this stuff.

Yes Lisa

Asbestos kills, as does water and a long list of many substances. Asbestos also has saved probably more lives than it has cost. It was an essential component in the production of penicillin which saved innumerable lives since first mass-produced in WWII when it was the ONLY filter material which could be high-temperature sterilised. Its fire retardant properties were used in theatre curtains, fire walls in motor cars and other situations - even ironing boards. It was the best ingredient in brake pads, low cost building sheets and water pipes.

It has also been wrongly accused of many cases of mesothelioma which were caused by faulty batches of vaccines produced without properly killing the Simian Virus (SV40) in vaccines using monkeys.

In the early 1960s, the West Australian Government carried out a major study of miners lung diseases to help mitigate the problem and provide for medical costs for any victims. Black lung from underground coal mining had been faced and controlled with 'dusting' and better ventilation. The main problem that remained was silicosis - asbestosis was then a minor contributor and mesothelioma was not even mentioned.

An Adelaide researcher found the Silica crystal was extremely aggressive to human tissue immediately following a fresh fracture of the crystal when positive and negative ions were present on the surface of the fracture, but within a few hours, these charges dispersed and the broken crystal becomes benign. A similar effect is likely with a fresh fractured asbestos crystal, and asbestos sheets are no danger unless drilled or sawn with no mask to stop fresh dust getting into the lungs.

However there was a clear link established between smokers and asbestos dust. A cigarette generating high temperature tars, combined with freshly fractured asbestos or silica crystals is a deadly combination. So is filling a bucket of water and putting your head in it.

Please don't condemn anyone who has used fibro, one of our greatest building products, to an unnecessary life of worry. That is another debilitating disease. Their lives have probably already been saved with reliable asbestos brake pads.

That's fascinating John. My dad used to cut fibro sheets with a circular saw, and I can remember having my arms coated in the dust while I was helping him. He was also a marine engineer and worked around asbestos lagging in engine rooms a lot.

When he died aged 93 there was no sign of asbestosis in his lungs.

I suspect that I will be fine too - much less exposure to the dust. I wonder if anyone has done any epidemiological studies to see just how many people who worked in the building trades in the 70s and 80s developed asbestosis and what a projection of that might mean.

Asbestos is undoubtedly dangerous, but is it as dangerous as they say?

A good post John McRobert, but I was of the opinion that the problem with the asbestos fiber was the hook at the end of the fiber, making the fiber a permanent fixture in the lining of the lung . That theory was around in the early days of protest.

Thanks Graham Y and Diver Dan

Good to have constructively enquiring minds joining a debate.

Regarding the theory of 'hooks' on the ends of fibres, this doesn't stack up against the research showing the existence of positive and negative ions at the ends of freshly fractured crystals, of their short life, and of their aggressive nature during their short life. This explains why diamond drillers were affected by silicosis, and Lawrence of Arabia and his mates who must have inhaled lots of desert sand (same silica, but not freshly fractured) weren't subject to this debilitating lung disease.

Millions of Australians also have lived with asbestos over lifetimes, and fibro houses are quite safe to live in with no ill-effect. Sensible face-mask precautions when drilling or sawing should be used, as for any dusty environments. Many lung diseases are fungal infections or community spread viruses such as when the infected party sneezes.

A huge industry has been built on fear of the very word 'asbestos'. As with the scare campaign about carbon dioxide, this will one day be exposed for what it is, an assemblage of half-truths.