Asbestos is a substance that can be considered almost unique because of its set of properties. Several other substances would be needed to replace it, and they arent always comparable to the benefits offered by asbestos:
HAnother factor that has to be taken into consideration is the technical difficulty in terms of the performance of any replacement material, especially with regards to applications in brakes for heavy-duty vehicles (trucks and trains), fiber cement roofing, and insulation systems for the air and space industry. To date, no other product has proved to be comparable to chrysotile in terms of efficiency and safety.
Medical research indicates that the possible deleterious effects of asbestos on health are common to most of the other fibers, meaning that in specific sizes and dosages, alternative fibers can have similar deleterious effects on lung tissues. However, while asbestos has been the subject of comprehensive studies for more than 100 years, and the knowledge of its effects on workers health is well known, other fibers have only recently (10 to 20 years) been studied and used. Because of that we will need a longer period of time to learn about their long-term action (30 to 50 years).
In the light of these consideration, the World Health Organization has published, in a joint effort with the ILO - International Labor Organization and the UN - the United Nations Organization, the Environmental Health Criteria 151, in which the following recommendation is found: "All respirable and biopersistent fibres must undergo testing for toxicity and carcinogenicity. Exposure to these fibers must be controlled with the same measures created for asbestos". That means that replacement fibers, such as erionite, can cause risks that are similar or even worse than those posed by asbestos.
PMore information can be found in Comparative analysis of the life cycle of AT fiber cement and NT fiber cement, published in 2004 by the Instituto Nacional de Engenharia e Tecnologia Industrial (INETI) from Portugal. The study evaluates environmental impacts and costs, from the manufacture of fiber-cement products up to the sales of the finished material, according to the practices established by the ISO 14040 standards for Ecoefficiency.
The industrial process favoring substitution that is being used in Brazil uses a large amount of pure cellulose and that will result in significant environmental impact caused by cutting down trees. Cellulose is not a natural fiber, is not biodegradable, and is 50% less durable than products containing chrysotile asbestos. That means that the adoption of this product will result in landfills that are twice as full.
