Asbestos was used in brick manufacturing and the bricklaying process because it added immense tensile strength to materials. Asbestos<\/a> was lightweight as well. That reduced heavy burdens as gravity forces pulled at tall walls and fire flues.<\/p>\n Asbestos gave brick materials a fantastic ability to withstand high heat and be fireproof. It’s no wonder bricks were the prime choice for fireplace linings known as firebricks.<\/p>\n Asbestos was overwhelmingly used in almost all brick products from the turn of the twentieth century until the 1980s when the dangers of airborne asbestos exposure<\/a> became widely known.<\/p>\n Besides adding strength and being fire resistant as well as reducing structural weight, asbestos raw materials were readily sourced, inexpensive, and stable.<\/p>\n Brick and mortar asbestos content varied according to their purpose and installation. Firebricks and their mortar contained up to 80 percent asbestos.<\/p>\n Fireboxes, flues, and chimneys were able to stand prolonged periods of direct flame contact because the asbestos additives didn’t burn or distort no matter how hot they got.<\/p>\n Ordinary clay and concrete bricks couldn’t handle this. Neither could regular Portland cement-based mortar mixes.<\/p>\nAsbestos Fiber Exposure from Bricks and Mortar<\/h2>\n