A Brief History of Asbestos | A Short Documentary | Fascinating Horror · Fascinating Horror
讲述 asbestos 的历史与危害，适合练习阅读理解与词汇积累。
On the 14th of March, 1924, an English textile worker named Nellie Kershaw passed away after several years of ill health.
1924年3月14日，一位名叫内莉·克肖（Nellie Kershaw）的英国纺织工人因长期患病最终去世。
During the autopsy which followed, strange, sharp particles of mineral matter were found inside her lungs.
在随后进行的尸检中，人们发现她的肺部含有许多奇怪的、形状尖锐的矿物颗粒。
Her case was written into medical literature,
她的病例被记录在了医学文献中。
becoming the very first widely published case of a person dying as a result of exposure to asbestos in their workplace.
这是首例因在工作场所接触石棉而导致死亡的病例，并且该病例被广泛报道。
Nellie Kershaw, however, would not by any means be the last to die from such a cause.
然而，内莉·克肖绝不会是因这种原因而去世的最后一个人。
Asbestos is a naturally-occurring mineral material, generally white and fibrous in appearance.
石棉是一种天然存在的矿物材料，外观通常为白色且呈纤维状。
It has many exceedingly useful properties – including being resistant to flame, an excellent thermal and electrical insulator,
它具有许多极其实用的特性——包括耐火焰性、出色的隔热和绝缘性能。
and resistant to many acids and other chemicals.
此外，这种材料还具有抗多种酸类及其他化学物质的能力。
Its fibrous nature means that it can exhibit all of these properties while also being flexible and easy to work with.
由于其纤维状的特性，这种材料不仅具备上述所有优点，同时还具有柔韧性，易于加工和使用。
This combination of desirable traits has led to asbestos being used extensively throughout history.
由于这种理想特性的组合，石棉在历史上被广泛使用。
There is evidence of prehistoric people mixing asbestos fibres into clay cooking pots to strengthen them.
有证据表明，史前人类曾将石棉纤维掺入陶制烹饪器具中，以增强其耐用性。
In Ancient Egypt, asbestos cloth may have been used when mummifying dead bodies in order to better protect them.
在古埃及，人们在制作木乃伊时可能会使用石棉布，以更好地保护尸体。
In Ancient Persia, some wealthy citizens owned handkerchiefs woven with asbestos fibres.
在古波斯，一些富有的公民拥有用石棉纤维编织的手帕。
These were fireproof, and so could be cleaned simply by dropping them into a fire.
这些材料具有防火性能，因此只需将它们放入火中即可进行清洁。
Any dirt would burn away but the asbestos cloth would remain undamaged.
任何污垢都会被烧掉，但石棉布却不会受到任何损坏。
In the Roman Empire, the wicks of ceremonial candles were made with asbestos.
在罗马帝国，用于仪式的蜡烛的烛芯是由石棉制成的。
Saturated with oil, the wick would still give a good light, but wouldn’t burn away – making the candle last much longer.
由于灯芯已被油充分浸透，它仍然能够发出明亮的光芒，而且不会被烧毁，从而使蜡烛的使用寿命大大延长。
Blankets woven with asbestos were sometimes used when cremating dead bodies, too – because the blanket would not burn,
在火化尸体时，有时也会使用用石棉编织的毯子——因为这种毯子不会燃烧。
it would easily separate the ashes of the recently deceased from the ashes of the fire they were cremated on.
这种方法可以很容易地将刚刚去世的人的骨灰，与他们在火葬时所产生的骨灰区分开来。
Roman lawyer and writer Pliny the Younger noticed that many slaves that worked with asbestos became ill…
罗马律师兼作家小普林尼注意到：许多接触石棉的奴隶都患上了疾病……
though he was unsure exactly why.
尽管他并不清楚具体原因是什么。
This may have been common knowledge at the time, as many people declined to buy slaves that had previously worked at asbestos quarries,
在那个时候，这或许已经是常识了——因为很多人不愿意购买那些曾在石棉矿场工作过的奴隶。
believing that they would have short lives.
他们认为自己的人生将会很短暂。
Despite this, asbestos continued to be used throughout the centuries…
尽管如此，石棉仍在整个世纪里被持续使用着……
until the 1800s, when interest in the mineral suddenly increased.
直到19世纪，人们对这种矿物的兴趣突然增加了。
Sir William Edmond Logan, a Canadian geologist, displayed samples of asbestos in London, where people were amazed by the versatility and usefulness of the material,
威廉·埃德蒙·洛根爵士（Sir William Edmond Logan）是一位加拿大地质学家，他在伦敦展示了石棉样本。人们被这种材料的多样性和实用性所震撼。
and it was soon in great demand.
这种产品很快便受到了广泛欢迎（即需求量很大）。
Asbestos was used to make all manner of everyday items, like heatproof oven gloves and ironing board covers.
石棉曾被用于制造各种日常用品，例如耐热的烤箱手套和熨衣板套。
It was used as a coating to insulate pipes, floors and walls.
它被用作涂层材料，用于为管道、地板和墙壁提供隔热保护。
It was sprayed onto the interior of train cars for insulation, and formed into sheets for the construction of prefabricated buildings.
这种材料被喷涂在火车车厢的内壁上，用于隔热；同时，它也被加工成板材，用于预制建筑的建设。
It was used to insulate wires, to make banknotes that could not be burned, to create fireproof uniforms for fire fighters,
它曾被用来为电线提供绝缘保护，用于制造无法被烧毁的纸币，以及为消防员制作防火制服。
to insulate and protect automobiles, to clad pipes, to create warm and insulating blankets, and for many other things besides.
用于为汽车提供隔热保护、包裹管道、制作保暖隔热材料，以及许多其他用途。
This increased demand for asbestos necessitated greater production.
由于对石棉的需求不断增加，因此必须提高其生产量。
Asbestos was mined all over the world, with some of the largest extractors being Canada, Russia and Zimbabwe.
石棉在世界各地都有开采，其中最大的开采国包括加拿大、俄罗斯和津巴布韦。
Factories and facilities all over the world turned raw asbestos into usable products, and the material was ubiquitous in the construction and shipbuilding industries.
世界各地的工厂和生产企业都将原始的石棉加工成了可用的产品，这种材料在建筑和造船行业中被广泛使用。
Asbestos, in short, was everywhere.
简而言之，石棉无处不在。
In the early 1900s, it was noticed the asbestos workers tended to die at a younger age than workers in other industries.
20世纪初，人们发现接触石棉的工人往往比其他行业的工人更早去世。
In 1906, a London doctor attributed the death of a 33-year-old man directly to asbestos for the first time.
1906年，一位伦敦医生首次将一名33岁男子的死亡直接归因于石棉。
In 1924, textile worker Nellie Kershaw passed
1924年，纺织工人内莉·克肖去世了。
away after working with asbestos for many years, and notes on her case were published in medical journals in the UK.
她在接触石棉多年后出现了相关健康问题；关于她病情的记录被发表在英国的医学期刊上。