Engaged in rehabilitating Soviet slate: urges not to rush to replace old roofs

The message received more than three hundred “likes” and many comments in a few days.

“How else are you being cheated? Ogi with older roofs covered with slate. So there is some dangerous asbestos… And it turns out that asbestos is found in two modifications: chrysolite (sic) – quite safe – and amphibole – harmful. But, apparently, after agreeing to do business, both were written off. So don’t rush to change the roofs, because in the territory of the USSR, only safe asbestos was allowed to be used in the household, and in the wild west, the widely used harmful one was banned only relatively recently. Our old slate can be safely used for roofs, greenhouse and composting boards, etc. And all dust will harm your lungs – whether you cut slate, brick, or stone“, the message states (spelling not corrected – ed.).

The reaction of the readers of the message was mixed. There were commentators who gave thanks in approval and said: “I have been raising this question for a long time and suspected that [tai] it was just a maneuver to earn money.” But there were also those who criticized the author of the message that he was “trying to turn asbestos into a harmless, friendly material”.

Almost a thousand shares show that the message received a lot of attention from social network users.

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral whose fibers can be broken down into thin, strong threads. It has been widely used in many industries because the fibers are excellent insulators (resistant to heat, fire and chemicals, and do not conduct electricity). Asbestos is often used to strengthen cement and other materials.

Asbestos has been used by humans since prehistoric times. The earliest finds date back to 5 thousand. Ave. Cr. This is the so-called asbestos pottery from the Eastern Finland region.

The industrial production of asbestos-cement slate from Portland cement and chrysotile (not chrysolite, as the author of the message states) began at the very beginning of the 20th century. Slate quickly became popular due to its relatively low price, resistance to fire, water and light weight.

The production technology was quite simple: 90 percent cement and 10 percent asbestos (chrysotile) was mixed with water and pressed into the desired shape. Asbestos fibers in the product performed the function of reinforcing material and gave it strength.

In addition to chrysotile, minerals from the amphibole group were also used for asbestos products, including slate: crocidolite (blue asbestos), actinolite, amosite (brown asbestos), anthophyllite and tremolite.

The first studies on the health risks posed by asbestos were carried out at the beginning of the 20th century. Later, lung cancer was recognized as an occupational disease of people in contact with asbestos.

The World Health Organization warns that all types of asbestos causes lung cancer, mesothelioma (incurable cancer of the lining of the chest or peritoneum), laryngeal and ovarian cancer, and asbestosis (fibrosis or scarring of the lungs).

Exposure to asbestos occurs through inhalation of asbestos fibers in the workplace, in ambient air near point sources such as factories that handle asbestos, or in indoor air in homes and buildings containing friable asbestos materials.

Asbestos-related diseases develop slowly. Symptoms of asbestosis can take 10 to 20 years to appear, and asbestos-related cancer can take up to 40 years.

Asbestos usually poses a health risk only when it is broken or crushed. Then its dust spreads in the air, and a person inhales asbestos fibers that enter the lungs. Not all types of asbestos are equally dangerous. It depends on the size and shape of the fibers. Crocidolite and amosite fibers are considered the most dangerous. However, this does not make chrysotile any safer.

From 1969 to 1987, the International Agency for Research on Cancer conducted studies on the carcinogenicity of various substances. The report noted numerous cases of lung cancer, mesothelioma, and other cancers, among other types of asbestos, caused by chrysotile, which the author described in the aforementioned social media post as “fairly safe.”

An international team of scientists, together with Russian scientists, conducted a study in the world’s largest chrysotile mine in Asbestos, Russia. The study was based on all employees who after 1975 worked for at least one year in any company of the mine or its factories, working books. Systematic stationary dust measurement control was carried out in all these companies, so it was possible to trace the doses received by one or another employee at various times.

The cohort included 30,445 employees (32% women), of which 54% were male. worked in a mine or concentrator for more than 30 years. Cohort members’ health status and causes of death were analyzed up to 2015.

This large-scale study confirmed an increased risk of mesothelioma with high chrysotile fiber exposure and an increased lung cancer mortality in men with increased dust exposure. The increase in lung cancer mortality among women was less pronounced, the researchers noted, but said the study should be continued.

Currently, almost 70 countries and territories around the world have banned the production and use of asbestos-containing products. Among them are all the countries of the European Union. Russia remains the largest producer of chrysotile. In 2014 and 2015, it mined 1.1 million each. tons of chrysotile. For comparison, China, which is in second place, extracted 400,000 tons in the same year. tons of chrysotile. In subsequent years, the extraction of chrysotile in Russia fell to approximately 630-750 thousand tons. tons annually.

In Russia, there are currently 12 factories producing chrysotile cement sheets and slate. 400 thousand people work in this industry. people. In the Russian media and social networks, the voice of representatives of this industry can be heard reassuringly that chrysotile is completely harmless, so there is no need to give up slate and stop buying it for new constructions or building repairs.

Here, for example, on a popular Russian blogging platform dzen.ru user TeamLit in a lengthy publication Is Slate Harmful. Myths and reality” thoroughly proves that the human body is able to naturally remove chrysotile fibers that have entered the lungs within a short time, so they cannot cause any diseases. And banning asbestos, including chrysotile, he says, is “anti-asbestos hysteria” and even a conspiracy.

Even the popular Russian propaganda narrative that the West has always tried to harm the USSR and Russia in every way is woven into this. Allegedly, asbestos was added to the list of carcinogenic substances only after the supply of asbestos “exhausted” in Western countries, and the Soviet Union became the largest supplier of asbestos to the world.

A closer look at who owns the account that publishes such texts dispels all doubts about the impartiality of the author. The account is administered by the asbestos-cement factory “Timliujskij šifer” located in the settlement of Timliuj, Buryatia.

15min verdict: lie. The information provided echoes the claims of interested representatives of the Russian asbestos industry and contradicts known and research-based facts. The results of various studies show that some asbestos minerals of the amphibole group are the most dangerous to health, but the links between exposure to chrysotile and serious diseases such as cancer have also been established – there is no such thing as safe asbestos.

The publication was prepared in 15 minutes in partnership with Metawhich aims to stop the spread of misleading news on the social network. More about the program and its rules – here.