A common name given to any of several fibrous silicate minerals. The most widely used asbestos mineral is a type of serpentine called chrysotile (white asbestos). Other asbestos minerals are: riebeckite, crocidolite (blue asbestos), amianthus, anthophyllite, amphibole, amosite (brown asbestos), tremolite, or actinolite. Asbestos is non-combustible and heat resistant. It was used by the ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Chinese as a fireproof fabric. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, asbestos was used for fireproofing and insulating new houses. Small asbestos fibres were mixed with binders and compressed into boards, shingles, tiles and sprayed onto ceilings. Health concerns have limited the use of asbestos since the early 1960s. In the U.S., it was declared a hazardous material in 1986. Synonyms: amphibole; asbestus; serpentine; earth flax; chrysotile; cork fossil; mountain leather; mountain cork; mountain flax; mineral fibre; amosite; crocidolite; silicate fibre; amianthus; riebeckite; anthophyllite; tremolite; actinolite; salamander wool. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2000). [J. Cassar, R. de Angelis]