Some individual fibers may be up to 700 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. Because asbestos fibers are so small, once released into the air, they may stay suspended there for hours or even days. Asbestos fibers are also virtually indestructible. They are resistant to chemicals and heat, and they are very stable in the environment. They do not evaporate into air or dissolve in water, and they are not broken down over time.
Asbestos is probably the best insulator known to man.
Because asbestos has so many useful properties, it has been used in over 3,000 different products. Usually asbestos is mixed with other materials to form the products. Floor tiles, for example, may contain only a small percentage of asbestos. Asbestos may be found in many different products and many different places. The most common way for asbestos fibers to enter the body is through breathing.