The legal and jurisdictional effect of the tonnage of raw asbestos fiber shipped into the State of California, that originated from one particular asbestos mine in Canada, was the subject of Cassiar Min. Corp. v. Sup. Ct. (1998) 66 Cal. App. 4th 550, 553 (A Canadian company that mined raw asbestos fiber from 1953 to 1992, unsuccessfully sought to avoid California jurisdiction, where the record showed that it sold “thousands of tons of raw asbestos” to California manufacturers of finished asbestos-containing products, including companies such as Johns-Manville, Fibreboard, and CertainTeed).

Asbestos fiber comes from crushing asbestos rock, then extracting and compacting the raw asbestos fiber into bags.  Arena v Owens Corning Corp. (1998) 63 Cal. App. 4th 1178, 1187, fn 5 (describing this mining and milling process and holding that raw asbestos fiber is a “product” within the meaning of strict products liability tort law).

The name “asbestos” derives from the Greek word (σβεστος) meaning “inextinguishable,” and this name reflects one of its principal characteristics: fire resistance.  Mullen v. Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (1988) 200 Cal. App. 3d 250, 255.

California law specifically defines “asbestos” to include these six varieties, and describes them as “naturally occurring fibrous hydrated mineral silicates: (1) chrysotile, (2) crocidolite, (3) amosite, (4) fibrous tremolite, (5) fibrous anthophyllite, and (6) fibrous actinolite.”  California Health & Safety Code, Sec. 25925(a); accord, 29 Code of Federal Regulations 1910.1001(b) (1) Chrysotile, known for its silky white color, its durability, and its flexibility, is the most widely used asbestos fiber. Manufacturers have used it in the production of asbestos textiles, cement products, friction materials, insulation, and paper products.  See, e.g., Mullen v. Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (1988) 200 Cal. App. 3d 250, fn 7. (2) Crocidolite, a harsher, blue fiber, is used in pipes, cement products, textiles, and felts for plastics.  Crocidolite is especially resistant to acids and alkalides.  Id. (3) Amosite is a harsh, brown fiber.  It is extremely heat resistant, and manufacturers use it in cement, pipes, refractory tiles, and plastic reinforcement.  Id. (4) Anthophyllite is used in cement production and the chemical industry.  Id. (5) Tremolite is used for talc filters and in the chemical industry.  Id. (6) Actinolite usually is not used commercially. Id.

All six of the asbestos varieties share several physical properties: (1) they occur as bundles of mineral fibers that can be easily separated from the host matrix or cleaved into thinner fibers; (2) the fibers exhibit high tensile strengths; (3) these mineral fibers show high length-to-diameter (aspect) ratios, sometimes up to 1:1000; (4) these fibers are sufficiently flexible to be spun into asbestos yarn and woven into cloth; and (5) macroscopically, asbestos fibers resemble organic fibers such as cellulose. Virta, Robert L., “Asbestos: Geology, Mineralogy, Mining and Uses,” (U.S. Dept. of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Open File Report, 02-149).

Susan Raterman, a certified industrial hygienist, [fn 5 - An industrial hygienist is skilled in the art and science of recognizing, anticipating, evaluating and controlling health hazards in the workplace] testified that asbestos fibers are small and invisible when airborne. It is difficult to ascertain the level of asbestos in the air and scientists rely on the asbestos content of materials to determine airborne content. A person can be exposed to asbestos without knowing it because the fibers are so small. According to Raterman, asbestos is a toxin and a carcinogen, and in an industrial setting, there is no safe dose of asbestos. Products that incorporate asbestos release asbestos into the air if they are handled in a manner that disturbs them because this causes the asbestos to become airborne.