Asbestos, a group of silicate minerals, is well known as a fire-resistant building material that saved millions of lives (protecting buildings and allowing us to slow our vehicles quickly!). But its reputation is completely tarnished by the fact that this fibrous mineral gets into the lung and causes several lethal diseases. I interviewed a specialist years ago who told me that every single person in the world has at least a million asbestos fibres in their lungs, but the risk of developing asbestosis and mesothelioma is dose-dependent and moderated by genetic and other factors. There is no “safe” asbestos, whether white, grey or blue, it is all potentially harmful if inhaled. Around a quarter of a million people die each year from asbestos-related disease. Anyway, none of that is the problem on hand. It’s the etymology of the word in which I’m interested. Some time ago I was writing about the Canadian town of Asbestos, which was hoping to change its name to get away from its negative…
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