Asbestos is a mineral that has been used through the centuries for many items including lamp wicks, napkins, burial clothes, and table clothes and is mined from metamorphic deposits. When used for its resistance to fire, the fibers of asbestos are typically woven into mats or fabric or mixed with cement.

It was formally used in electric ovens for its electrical insulation and in the construction of buildings for its flame-retardant and insulating qualities. Also its flexibility and resistance to chemicals made it popular in constructing buildings. In ancient times items made of asbestos were held to be at par with items made of gold. It was generally used to wrap bodies when people were burnt after death to keep the ashes of the body separate from the woods and other burning materials.

After the discovery that asbestos was tied to numerous cases of lung caner and Mesothelioma, the removal of asbestos that had been used in houses and other buildings became common. This was procedure proved to be difficult because anyone in the building at the time of removal had to be relocated and the surrounding atmosphere had to be contained as to not allow the removed asbestos be released into the air.

Along with the removal of asbestos a gargantuan amount of lawsuits were filed against owners of buildings and producers of the insulating asbestos causing many companies to declare bankruptcy. Even to this day, many cases of asbestos are being reported and the development of treatments to the illnesses such as Mesothlioma causes are being created.