Asbestos Consumptions and Production
Asbestos Consumptions and Production
Exports and imports declined to 4,000 tons and 6,000 tons, respectively. Estimated consumption declined to 6,000 tons from 7,000 tons in 2002. Some reported exports were likely to have been re-exports, asbestos-containing products, or non-asbestos products. Any exports of domestically used produced asbestos were from stocks owing to the closure of the last U.S. asbestos mine in 2002. All the asbestos used in the United States was chrysolite. Canada remained the largest supplier of asbestos for domestic consumption.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2004
Source: U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2004
World Resources: The world has 200 millions tons of identified resources and an additional 45 million tons classified as hypothetical resources. The U.S. resources are large, but are composed mostly of short fibers.
Substitutes: Numerous materials substitute for asbestos in products. The substitutes include calcium silicate, carbon fiber, cellulose fiber, ceramic fiber, glass fiber, steel fiber, wollastonite, and several organic fibers, such as possible asbestos substitute for products in which the reinforcement properties of fibers were not required. No single substitute was as versatile as asbestos.
Domestic Production and Use: There was no asbestos production in the United States in 2003.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2004