Treatment of asbestos fabrics with polymers in order to reduce the release of asbestos dust

Abstract

Asbestos fabrics, produced of various types of asbestos yarns bave been finished with polymeric dispersions in order to reduce the tendency of theses textile structures to precipitate noxious asbestos dust during manipulation and application. By deposition of small quantities of dust particles in the innersurface of asbestos yarns and at the fibric surface, a mutual bonding of the fibres occures. This helps remarkably to reduce the precipitation of dust, and the most important physico-mechanical properties of asbestos fabrics remain almost unchanged. It was found that conventional and disperse asbestos fabrics behave in a different way. Disperse fabrics, characterized by a smaller initial dust, showed a less convenient behaviour during the applied finishing conditions.