Description:
The name asbestos is derived from the Greek word for inextinguishable
or indestructible, and the adjective asbestiform. is applied to any
mineral that is readily separable into more or less flexible fibers. Among
the more important asbestiform minerals, from the standpoint of toughness,
incombustibility, and low heat conductivity, the following are included
under the general trade name of asbestos: Chrysotile (serpentine
asbestos), amphibole asbestos (including fibrous varieties of tremolite,
actinolite, etc.), anthophyllite asbestos, crocidolite (Cape blue asbestos),
and amosite. Unless stated otherwise, however, the term
"asbestos" usually means chrysotile. It is the only variety of asbestos
known to occur in commercial quantities in Arizona. 97 p.