I believe that the friends of the post-80s and 90s generations have heard of asbestos tile, a building material, which was once widely used in rural housing construction or building greenhouses in mainland China, and has good insulation benefits. In addition, this material is cheap and deeply loved by the majority of people.
According to the discoveries of mainland archaeologists, there were records of the use of asbestos fibers in the mainland during the Zhou Dynasty, and it is clear that the discovery and use of asbestos in the mainland has a very long history. The ancient Greeks and Romans used insomnia to make clothes and tents.
However, with the improvement of people's living standards, asbestos tiles have disappeared from the public's field of vision. After all, the material of this asbestos tile is very dangerous, it is a class of carcinogens, 1kg of asbestos contains a million "steel needles", although it is known that its danger, but there are still many places in China that are still in use.
Many countries have begun to ban the harm of asbestos, after all, the long-term use of this dangerous substance will threaten people's lives all the time. It has been strictly banned by more than 60 countries, which shows how harmful asbestos is to people.
The magic of asbestos materials
In ancient times, asbestos was also known as "stone hemp", or "unash cloth". In the early days, it was mainly used to make ropes, cloths, etc. Over time, it has been found that asbestos is a material that has a good thermal insulation and fire prevention effect. Therefore, asbestos is widely used in thermal insulation materials or fireproof materials.
Asbestos tiles were originally invented by the Czech inventor Ludwig Hachik, who mixed asbestos fibers and cement to make asbestos tiles that are not only fireproof and durable, corrosion-resistant and resistant to insect bites, but also inexpensive and deeply loved by people. It was also a highly sought-after material at the time.
Many people regard asbestos tile houses as "roofs for life" because they can resist the erosion of time and various challenges of nature, and maintain their beauty and functionality for a long time. These asbestos tile houses are still standing after the wind and rain, adding history and charm to the quiet town.
Asbestos is made up of many tiny fibers that look like a natural stone and are non-toxic and harmless. However, if the asbestos is crushed, a large amount of dust will be produced, which will invade the human body like steel needles and have serious harm to human health. Even if surgery is performed, it cannot be removed, and it will remain in the body forever.
And asbestos tiles are not all benefits, asbestos tiles do not protect against sunlight, and moisture resistance is also very poor. Especially in the summer, after strong exposure to the sun, it is very easy to break, and there is a huge safety hazard when used as a roofing material. It also has a great impact on the environment, and some people even find that the asbestos tile will be discarded directly, after all, this material is very cheap and will not be distressed at all.
Cracked asbestos has fine dust floating in the air, which has a significant impact on the environment. And in the process of dismantling or disposal, asbestos fibers will leak and spread. If there are no manual protective measures, just discarded at will, the impact on health is very large.
According to the World Health Organization, 140,000 lung cancer deaths due to asbestos fibres occur globally each year. Cigarette smoke and air pollution are responsible for 700,000 and 200,000 lung cancer deaths, respectively. It can be seen that the harm of asbestos tiles to human health should not be underestimated.
"Expulsion" because of asbestos tiles
Because asbestos was "expelled from nationality", Australia is still the first, Australia's Vitnome town was once a barren land, even birds are too lazy to here, but after World War II, because of rich mineral resources, relying on asbestos and other industries, once fed more than 20,000 people, huge interests also hide the danger of terror.
In the 70s of the last century, all the asbestos factories in the small town of Witnome were closed, and 3 million tons of asbestos residue became an unsolvable problem. Once one of the most polluted areas in the southern hemisphere, untreatable asbestos forced residents to evacuate and the city became a no-man's land.
Although the town of Vitnome is an abandoned city, it still attracts explorers. These explorers were not spared asbestos. In addition, the tragedy in the small town of Vitnome is not an isolated case, as many people around the world have suffered from asbestos. This also raises people's thoughts.
In order to protect the health of the residents, the government decided to take emergency measures to classify the town of Vitnome as a no-man's land and force the evacuation of all residents. The decision was a major blow to many residents, who had to leave their homes in search of a new place to live.
In the face of such a fact, many countries and regions simply hate asbestos tiles, after all, many people like asbestos when they first use it. However, after a long time, the danger of asbestos was discovered, and since the end of the 20th century, more than 60 countries have successively enacted laws prohibiting the use of asbestos.
China's dependence on asbestos
When asbestos was just emerging, people didn't know how harmful asbestos was. In some areas, even if they know the danger of asbestos, for the sake of economic development, governments and companies in some regions have started to mine and produce asbestos regardless of it, which has also led to more and more people using asbestos.
In addition, China had just developed at that time, and many areas could not meet the medical conditions due to economic backwardness. Even if some people say that asbestos is dangerous, they don't think so, the most important thing is that asbestos tiles are cheap and have a long service life, even if they are damaged, they can be discarded directly, so that more people like asbestos as a material.
And in 2003, the mainland has begun to ban the use of asbestos materials in the manufacture of motor vehicle brakes, along with the sale of hygiene products and cosmetics containing insomnia. This is also for our own safety, after all, insomnia is too harmful, and it has penetrated into all corners of our lives for more than ten years.
As more and more people become aware of the dangers of asbestos, asbestos materials have penetrated into various fields in China, and it may take several years to completely ban them. Fortunately, China has now strictly controlled carcinogens, and as early as 2002, it began to completely ban the use of high carcinogens asbestos.
Products that replace asbestos
Up to now, the mainland is still looking for products that can replace asbestos, and there are more than 150 kinds of materials that can replace asbestos, including glass wool, rock wool, slag cotton, bleached soil fiber and so on. However, the price of these materials is very different from that of asbestos, and it will take some time to complete the real complete replacement.
In 2019, an inorganic nanomaterial independently developed by a domestic scientific research institute was patented, which introduces special ions on the surface of inorganic materials to make the material as a whole obtain better flame retardant and heat resistance, which may be a gratifying breakthrough to replace asbestos in the future.
In the current industrial tide, the exploration of alternative materials is like looking for an exit in an endless labyrinth, which must not only ensure safety, but also have a certain practicality, which is indeed challenging for scientific researchers, and I believe that in the near future, there will be new materials to replace asbestos, so that people's lives are healthier and safer.
There is a long way to go to ban asbestos on the mainland, and a balance needs to be struck between economic development and public health. With the progress of science and technology and the improvement of supervision, the mainland is expected to gradually reduce its dependence on asbestos, eliminate asbestos hazards from the source, and protect people's health.
We should also choose healthy and safe materials when decorating, especially those engaged in the building materials industry, and should take due precautions at ordinary times, even if there is no harm of asbestos, we should pay more attention to the impact of dust on the human body. If anything happens to your body, you must go to the hospital for treatment as soon as possible.
At the same time, it is also necessary to prohibit the production and sale of products containing asbestos, which is also the subject of inspection. There were many products made of asbestos before, and many black-hearted merchants frequently used asbestos materials in the industrial field and daily necessities in order to obtain greater profits.
Although there is a national inspection, but many products are pervasive in our lives, when we buy products, do not be greedy for cheap, we must carefully check whether they contain harmful substances, after all, the body is their own, or pay more attention.