Asbestos, actinolite (CAS NO.77536-66-4) is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals exploited commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their asbestiform habit, long, (1:20) thin fibrous crystals.

 Historic usage
Asbestos was named by the ancient Greeks, although the naming of minerals was not very consistent at that time. The ancients already recognized certain hazards of the material. The Greek geographer Strabo and the Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder noted that the material damaged lungs of slaves who wove it into cloth.Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, is said to have had a tablecloth made of asbestos.
Wealthy Persians, who bought asbestos imported over the Hindu Kush, amazed guests by cleaning the cloth by simply exposing it to fire. According to Biruni in his book of Gems, any cloths made of asbestos were called shastakeh[8]. Some of the Persians believed the fiber was fur from an animal that lived in fire and died when exposed to water.
While traveling to China, Marco Polo described observing miraculous garments that were cleaned by being placed in fires[citation needed]. These garments were likely made from asbestos.
Some archeologists believe that ancients made shrouds of asbestos, wherein they burned the bodies of their kings, in order to preserve only their ashes, and prevent their being mixed with those of wood or other combustible materials commonly used in funeral pyres. Others assert that the ancients used asbestos to make perpetual wicks for sepulchral or other lamps.In more recent centuries, asbestos was indeed used for this purpose. Although asbestos causes skin to itch upon contact, ancient literature indicates that it was prescribed for diseases of the skin, and particularly for the itch. It is possible that they used the term asbestos for alumen plumosum, because the two terms have often been confused throughout history.

Recent usage
Asbestos became more widespread during the industrial revolution; in the 1860s it was used as insulation in the U.S. and Canada. Development of the first commercial asbestos mine began in 1874 in the Appalachian foothills of Quebec.[12] By the mid 20th century uses included fire retardant coatings, concrete, bricks, pipes and fireplace cement, heat, fire, and acid resistant gaskets, pipe insulation, ceiling insulation, fireproof drywall, flooring, roofing, lawn furniture, and drywall joint compound.
Approximately 100,000 people in the United States have died, or will die, from asbestos exposure related to ship building. In the Hampton Roads area, a shipbuilding center, mesothelioma occurrence is seven times the national rate.[13] Thousands of tons of asbestos were used in World War II ships to wrap the pipes, line the boilers, and cover engine and turbine parts. There were approximately 4.3 million shipyard workers in the United States during WWII; for every thousand workers about fourteen died of mesothelioma and an unknown number died from asbestosis.
Asbestos fibe

 Asbestos, actinolite (CAS NO.77536-66-4) in some forms can be toxic. The inhalation of asbestos fibres can cause serious illnesses, including malignant lung cancer, mesothelioma (a type of malignant neoplasm dependent mostly from exposure to asbestos),and asbestosis (a type of pneumoconiosis).

IARC Cancer Review: Group 1 IMEMDT    IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Man . 7 (1987),p. 106.(World Health Organization, Internation Agency for Research on Cancer,Lyon, France.: ) (Single copies can be ordered from WHO Publications Centre U.S.A., 49 Sheridan Avenue, Albany, NY 12210) ; Animal Sufficient Evidence IMEMDT    IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Man . 14 (1977),p. 11.(World Health Organization, Internation Agency for Research on Cancer,Lyon, France.: ) (Single copies can be ordered from WHO Publications Centre U.S.A., 49 Sheridan Avenue, Albany, NY 12210) .

Confirmed human carcinogen. See also other asbestos entries.

OSHA PEL: TWA 2 million fibers/m³; CL 10 million fibers/m³; Cancer Hazard
ACGIH TLV: TWA 0.1 fibers/cc; Confirmed Human Carcinogen
DFG MAK: DFG TRK: (Fine dust particles that are able to reach the alveolar area of the lung) 1 × 10⁶ fibers/m³ (0.05 mg/m³), applicable when there is more than 2.5% asbestos in the dust
NIOSH REL: (asbestos): 0.1 fb/cc in a 400 L air sample
DOT Classification:  9; Label: CLASS 9

 Asbestos, actinolite ,its CAS NO. is 77536-66-4,the synonyms is Actinolite asbestos .