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Asbestos and some of its properties, such as resistance to heat, has been known to man since 2500 BC, when it was already being used by Finnish potters. The Greeks called it asbestos meaning “inextinguishable,” and this is the name still used today in many languages.
The first known patent for asbestos was issued in the United States of America in 1828 covering its use as an insulating material in steam engines. The first asbestos textile factory started production in 1896. After this date, and throughout the twentieth century, a host of applications for asbestos came into general use, and today there are over 3000 known applications.
In view of the repercussions of asbestos use on health and its role in the etiology of respiratory disease, the Scientific Committee of the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR) asked the society's Work Group on Occupational Respiratory Diseases (EROL) to draw up recommendations in order to provide pulmonologists with clear, concise, and up-to-date guidelines on asbestos-related diseases and their diagnosis.
It has been a great pleasure for me to coordinate this group of Spanish professionals whose demonstrated competence and knowledge of asbestos-related disease is well known.
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