Asbestos End Use
ASBESTOS END-USE STATISTICS1
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
[Metric tons]
Last modification: September 15, 2005
| Year | Asbestos cement pipe | Asbestos cement sheet | Coatings and compounds | Flooring products | Friction products | Insulation, electrical | Insulation, thermal | Packing and gaskets | Paper products | Plastics | Roofing products | Textiles | Other | Unknown | Apparent consumption |
| 1975 | 139,000 | 40,000 | 123,000 | 60,000 | 6,000 | 15,000 | 60,000 | 42,000 | 5,000 | 62,000 | 551,000 | ||||
| 1976 | 127,000 | 21,000 | 104,000 | 58,000 | 8,000 | 18,000 | 28,000 | 231,000 | 6,000 | 59,000 | 659,000 | ||||
| 1977 | 145,000 | 39,500 | 32,500 | 140,000 | 83,100 | 3,360 | 15,000 | 25,100 | 22,100 | 7,260 | 57,500 | 8,800 | 30,200 | 609,000 | |
| 1978 | 106,000 | 25,000 | 33,000 | 138,000 | 53,000 | 15,000 | 4,000 | 25,000 | 7,000 | 7,000 | 64,000 | 9,000 | 133,000 | 619,000 | |
| 1979 | 96,000 | 22,000 | 30,000 | 125,000 | 48,000 | 14,000 | 3,000 | 23,000 | 6,000 | 7,000 | 58,000 | 8,000 | 121,000 | 561,000 | |
| 1980 | 42,000 | 23,000 | 11,000 | 70,000 | 52,000 | 6,000 | 3,000 | 12,000 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 24,000 | 2,000 | 111,000 | 359,000 | |
| 1981 | 42,000 | 20,000 | 13,000 | 67,000 | 51,000 | 6,000 | 1,000 | 19,000 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 16,000 | 2,000 | 109,000 | 349,000 | |
| 1982 | 38,000 | 11,000 | 25,000 | 49,000 | 53,000 | 1,000 | 14,000 | 2,000 | 7,000 | 1,000 | 46,000 | 247,000 | |||
| 1983 | 26,000 | 10,000 | 23,000 | 45,000 | 48,000 | 1,000 | 12,000 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 6,000 | 1,000 | 42,000 | 217,000 | ||
| 1984 | 37,000 | 12,000 | 22,000 | 46,000 | 48,000 | 2 | 2,000 | 13,000 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 7,000 | 2,000 | 33,000 | 226,000 | |
| 1985 | 28,000 | 7,000 | 23,000 | 7,000 | 34,000 | 2 | 2 | 6,000 | 17,000 | 2 | 26,000 | 1,000 | 5,000 | 7,000 | 162,000 |
| 1986 | 20,000 | 5,000 | 17,000 | 5,000 | 26,000 | 2 | 2 | 5,000 | 13,000 | 2 | 20,000 | 2 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 120,000 |
| 1987 | 11,000 | 4,000 | 3,000 | 21,000 | 2 | 10,000 | 5,000 | 1,000 | 23,000 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 84,300 | ||
| 1988 | 12,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 2 | 15,000 | 2 | 2 | 10,000 | 1,000 | 2 | 20,000 | 2 | 2 | 5,000 | 71,400 |
| 1989 | 8,000 | 3,000 | 4,000 | 12,000 | 4,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 18,000 | 2 | 1,000 | 4,000 | 55,300 | |||
| 1990 | 5,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 9,000 | 3,000 | 2 | 2 | 13,000 | 1,000 | 7,000 | 41,300 | ||||
| 1991 | 3,700 | 1,600 | 800 | 9,500 | 2,800 | 2 | 2 | 15,100 | 600 | 34,800 | |||||
| 1992 | 2,000 | 2 | 1,000 | 10,000 | 3,000 | 2 | 2 | 16,000 | 1,000 | 2 | 32,800 | ||||
| 1993 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 10,000 | 3,000 | 2 | 2 | 16,000 | 1,000 | 2 | 31,600 | |||||
| 1994 | 2 | 9,000 | 3,000 | 2 | 2 | 13,000 | 1,000 | 2 | 26,800 | ||||||
| 1995 | 2 | 7,000 | 3,000 | 2 | 2 | 11,000 | 1,000 | 2 | 22,000 | ||||||
| 1996 | 2 | 7,000 | 3,000 | 2 | 2 | 11,000 | 1,000 | 2 | 21,700 | ||||||
| 1997 | 2 | 6,000 | 4,000 | 2 | 2 | 10,000 | 1,000 | 2 | 21,000 | ||||||
| 1998 | 2 | 3,000 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 2 | 9,000 | 1,000 | 15,800 | |||||||
| 1999 | 2 | 2,000 | 3,000 | 2 | 10,000 | 1,000 | 15,800 | ||||||||
| 2000 | 2 | 2,000 | 2 | 3,000 | 2 | 9,000 | 1,000 | 14,600 | |||||||
| 2001 | 2 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 2 | 9,000 | 1,000 | 13,100 | ||||||||
| 2002 | 2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1,000 | 2 | 4,000 | 2 | 6,850 | ||||||
| 2003 | 1,170 | 2,800 | 677 | 4,650 |
Asbestos End-Use Worksheet Notes
Data Source
The source of data for the asbestos end-use worksheet is the Minerals Yearbook, an annual collection, compilation, and analysis of mineral industry data, published by the U.S. Bureau of Mines and the U.S. Geological Survey.
End Use
End use is defined as the use of the mineral commodity in a particular industrial sector or product. For asbestos, end-use categories are asbestos cement pipe, asbestos cement sheet, coatings and compounds, flooring products, friction products, electrical insulation, thermal insulation, packing and gaskets, paper products, plastics, roofing products, textiles, other industrial uses, and unknown uses.
For the years 1975–76, coatings and compounds and plastics data were included in the other uses category and thermal insulation data were included with electrical insulation. Other uses include acetylene cylinder filler, asbestos diagrams, fuel cells, ceramic arc chute, and cooling tower fill. Unknown refers to end uses not known to producers.
After 1976, there was a downturn in asbestos use owing to regulations and concerns over health risks posed by high exposures to airborne asbestos. Public opposition to the use of asbestos and liability issues spurred the quest for alternatives to asbestos.
Blank cells in the spreadsheet indicate that data were not available and values were assumed to be zero. Data are rounded to no more than three significant digits; data may not add to totals shown.
References
U.S. Bureau of Mines, 1977–96, Minerals Yearbook, v. I, 1975–94.
U.S. Geological Survey, 1997–2005, Minerals Yearbook, v. I, 1995–2003.
Recommended Citation Format:
(1) If taken from CD version:
U.S. Geological Survey, [year of last update, e.g., 2005], [Mineral commodity, e.g., Gold] statistics, in Kelly, T.D., and Matos, G.R., comps., Historical statistics for mineral and material commodities in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 140, one CD-ROM. (Also available online at http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/2005/140/.)
(2) If taken from online version:
U.S. Geological Survey, [year of last update, e.g., 2005], [Mineral commodity, e.g., Gold] statistics, in Kelly, T.D., and Matos, G.R., comps., Historical statistics for mineral and material commodities in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 140, available online at http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/2005/140/. (Accessed [date].)
For more information, please contact:
USGS Asbestos Commodity Specialist