More than 95 percent of the asbestos used in the United States is the chrysotile type with the word chrysotile being derived from the Greek “krysos” meaning gold and “tilos” meaning fiber.
A few asbestos deposits were discovered at the Grand Canyon in 1872, and the first commercial production of asbestos in Arizona started in 1903 when the Hance Asbestos Mining Co. secured several tons at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, opposite Grand View.
Several years later, William Wallace Bass sold six tons of asbestos to China, France and the United States valued at $1,500 per ton.
Since 1913, over 160 asbestos mines have been in operation in Central Arizona, especially around the Salt River Canyon region, which produced a minimum of 75,000 tons of asbestos before the closure of the mines in the early 1980s.
The mines were closed as by the 1970s, scientific studies began to link respiratory issues including lung and mesothelioma cancer to high levels of exposure of microscopic fibers of asbestos.
Asbestos usage in the United States peaked in 1973 with 800,000 tons compared to only 1,000 tons in 2012 after the U.S. government passed laws strictly regulating its usage. The last asbestos mine to operate in the United States was the KCAC mine in San Benito County, California, which closed in 2002.
If you or someone you know is suffering from an asbestos related disease, such as mesothelioma, asbestosis, or lung cancer, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP at (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation. You may be entitled to an asbestos payout as part of an individual or class action lawsuit.
