Asbestine is a mineral

Mineral

A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...

 compound

Chemical compound

A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together...

 composed of nearly pure fibrous magnesium

Magnesium

Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...

 silicate

Silicate

A silicate is a compound containing a silicon bearing anion. The great majority of silicates are oxides, but hexafluorosilicate and other anions are also included. This article focuses mainly on the Si-O anions. Silicates comprise the majority of the earth's crust, as well as the other...

, with physical characteristics between those of asbestos

Asbestos

Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...

 and talc

Talc

Talc is a mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate with the chemical formula H2Mg34 or Mg3Si4O102. In loose form, it is the widely-used substance known as talcum powder. It occurs as foliated to fibrous masses, its crystals being so rare as to be almost unknown...

. It is used in paper

Paper

Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....

 manufacture and construction.

Applications

In antiquity, it was sometimes called linum vivum, and used to take advantage of its fire-resistant

Fire-retardant material

A fire resistant material is one that is designed to resist burning and withstand heat. It is used in the bunker gear worn by firefighters to protect them from the flames in a burning building. Most auto racing drivers also wear fire-retardant materials in case their car catches fire...

 properties. These uses included making it into napkin

Napkin

A napkin, or face towel is a rectangle of cloth used at the table for wiping the mouth while eating. It is usually small and folded...

s and towel

Towel

A towel is a piece of absorbent fabric or paper used for drying or wiping. It draws moisture through direct contact, often using a blotting or a rubbing motion. Common household textile towels are made from cotton, rayon, bamboo, nonwoven fibers or a few other materials.-Types of towels:* A bath...

s, which, when dirty, were simply thrown into the fire to clean. Historically, it has been used in a cast stone

Cast stone

Cast stone is defined as “a refined architectural concrete building unit manufactured to simulate natural cut stone, used in unit masonry applications”. In the UK and Europe cast stone is defined as “any material manufactured with aggregate and cementitious binder, intended to resemble in...

 form on house exteriors,
such as the Rand House in Minneapolis in 1874. Contemporary applications include use as an extender in paint-based products, although statutory restrictions on how much can be used have long been in place.

Health concerns

Trace amounts can be found in talc, which often contains asbestos fibers of various types. Studies into health risks associated with talc determined that with so many commercial varieties of talc being types of asbestine minerals, the resultant lung disease

Occupational lung disease

Main Article Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Occupational lung diseases are a branch of occupational diseases concerned primarily with work related exposures to harmful substances, be they dusts or gases, and the subsequent pulmonary disorders that may occur as a result...

—talcosis

Talcosis

Pulmonary talcosis, less specifically referred to as talcosis, is a pulmonary disorder caused by talc.It has been related to silicosis resulting from inhalation of talc and silicates. It is also tied to heroin use where talc might be used as an adulterant to increase weight and street value. It is...

, which can follow their prolonged inhalation, is usually a variety of asbestosis

Asbestosis

Asbestosis is a chronic inflammatory and fibrotic medical condition affecting the parenchymal tissue of the lungs caused by the inhalation and retention of asbestos fibers...

.