What is mesothelioma?
Risk factors for malignant mesothelioma
Those indirectly at risk
Consumer products
Asbestos has been used in a huge range of consumer products -- and continues to be used in many today. (Although asbestos is no longer mined in the USA, it is still imported.)
Products that exposed consumers to asbestos include the following (and others):
- electric blankets
- hair dryers (which have been reported to blow a find dust of asbestos into the air)
- curling irons
- heat guns
- molding clays
- deep fryers
- slow cookers
- frying pans/grills
- toasters
- fake fireplace logs
- dry wall patch (for consumer use)
- pipe wrap insulation
- heat-proof wall and floor protection
- high-temperature wallboard
Although many asbestos-containing products have been banned by the Consumer Products Safety Commission, many goods may still contain asbestos, especially roofing products, friction products, and gaskets. What's more, most such items are not labeled as containing asbestos.
One product that was never banned is vermiculite attic insulation. This was manufactured from vermiculite produced at a mine in Libby, Montana. Although vermiculite is a non-asbestos containing mineral silicate, the mine in Libby was contaminated with tremolite, one of the amphibole types of asbestos. Attic insulation and other products manufactured from the Libby vermiculite mine were produced through 1992 and distributed throughout the USA (often sold as 'Zonolite'). The Environmental Protection Agency estimates there are 30 million homes containing vermiculite attic insulation -- which could produce significant asbestos exposure if disturbed (for example, in home renovations). Vermiculite attic insulation sold today is not from the Libby mine.