Amosite, Brown Asbestos

Amosite, another member of the Amphibole group, is also known as brown asbestos. Well differentiated from other asbestos because of its harsh, dendritic fibres, it has good resistance to heat and has good tensile strength. In buildings construction, amosite was used for to prevent condensation and for its good sound dampening purposes. Industrial applications it is used on structural steel as part of passive fire protection systems. Between the years 1920 and 1960, amosite was heavily used in preformed thermal insulation, their value as a building material was to provide insulation for piping structures and the pipes themselves, formed into slabs and moulded pipe fitting covers.

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Asbestos group

1. Serpentine Group

a. Chrysotile

2. Amphibole Group

a. Amosite
b. Crocidolite
c. Tremolite
d. Actinolite
e. Anthophyllite

The fibres, once airborne, can be too small for the eye to see. That is why asbestos exposure can be very difficult to detect.

The fact that asbestos was an industrial superstar because of unique characteristics, they have found their way into more than 5000 successfully commercial products finding their way into the many residential, commercial, industrial, marine products.