Chrysotile — commonly called white asbestos — is the most widely used type of asbestos in history. It accounts for roughly 95% of all asbestos ever used in the United States and the overwhelming majority of asbestos used worldwide.

What Chrysotile Is

Chrysotile is the only member of the serpentine mineral family recognized as asbestos. Chemically it is a hydrated magnesium silicate. Unlike the straight, needle-like amphibole asbestos fibers, chrysotile fibers are curly, flexible, and silky — a structure that made it easy to spin into thread, weave into cloth, and blend into a huge range of building and friction products. Under a microscope its fibers appear wavy rather than rod-straight.

Appearance and Where It Was Mined

Chrysotile is typically white to grayish-green with a silky luster. The largest historical sources were Quebec (Canada), Russia, and smaller deposits in the United States. It was mined in enormous volume through the twentieth century.

Where Chrysotile Was Used

Because it was flexible, heat-resistant, and cheap, chrysotile went into almost every category of asbestos product:

  • Thermal pipe and boiler insulation and insulating cement
  • Floor tile (vinyl-asbestos tile) and the mastic adhesives beneath it
  • Roofing shingles, felts, and coatings
  • Asbestos-cement board, siding, and pipe
  • Gaskets, packing, and brake and clutch friction materials
  • Textiles — cloth, rope, and protective clothing
  • Joint compound, texture coatings, and acoustic materials

Health Risk

Chrysotile is classified by the World Health Organization’s IARC as a Group 1 human carcinogen — the highest category. It causes mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis. Some industry sources historically argued chrysotile was “safer” than amphibole asbestos because the body can clear its curly fibers somewhat more readily. Health authorities reject the idea that there is any safe level of exposure: because chrysotile was used in such vast quantities, it is responsible for the largest share of asbestos-related disease overall.

Regulatory Status

In March 2024 the U.S. EPA issued a final rule banning the remaining ongoing uses of chrysotile asbestos — the last type still being imported and used in the United States. Millions of tons installed over prior decades, however, remain in place in older buildings, equipment, and infrastructure.

If you were diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease and were exposed to chrysotile-containing insulation, tile, gaskets, or other products at work or in a building, you may be entitled to compensation through asbestos trust funds and civil litigation.