Asbestos Statistics and Information
Statistics and information on the worldwide supply of, demand for, and material flow of asbestos.
Overview
Asbestos is a generic name given to six fibrous minerals that have been used in commercial products. The six types of asbestos are chrysotile, crocidolite, amosite, anthophyllite asbestos, tremolite asbestos, and actinolite asbestos. Several properties that make asbestos so versatile and cost effective are high tensile strength, chemical and thermal stability, high flexibility, low electrical conductivity, and large surface area. The leading domestic markets are roofing products, gaskets, and friction products. Nearly all of the asbestos produced worldwide is chrysotile.
Publications
We are currently in the process of transitioning our datasets to the USGS ScienceBase platform to improve long-term accessibility, documentation, and version control. As part of that transition, we have temporarily paused public posting of our Minerals Yearbook (MYB) tables but will resume publication of them when the process is complete. Users subscribed to the automatic notification will be informed as each MYB becomes available. Thank you for your patience.
Mineral Industry Surveys
Mineral Commodity Summaries
Annual
- Asbestos
PDF Format: 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |2013 |2014 |2015 |2016 |2017 |2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | - Appendixes
- World Asbestos Consumption (updates USGS Circular 1298 "Worldwide Asbestos Supply and Consumption Trends from 1900 through 2003")
PDF Format: 2003-2007
XLS Format: 2003-2007
- Asbestos
PDF Format: 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019
XLS Format: 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 tables-only release | 2021 tables-only release | 2022 tables-only release | 2023 tables-only release - Archive: 1932-1993
Special
- Asbestos: Geology, Mineralogy, Mining, and Uses
OF-02-149 - Historical Statistics for Mineral and Material Commodities in the United States
Data Series 140 - Mineral Commodity Profiles -- Asbestos
Circular 1255-KK - Mineralogy and Morphology of Amphiboles Observed in Soils and Rocks in El Dorado Hills, California
OF-2006-1362 - Reconnaissance Study of the Geology of U.S. Vermiculite Deposits—Are Asbestos Minerals Common Constituents
Bulletin 2192 - Reported Historic Asbestos Mines, Historic Asbestos Prospects, and Other Natural Asbestos Occurrences in California
OF-2011-1188 - Reported Historic Asbestos Mines, Historic Asbestos Prospects, and Natural Asbestos Occurrences in the Eastern United States
OF-2005-1189 - Reported Historic Asbestos Prospects and Natural Asbestos Occurrences in the Central United States
OF-2006-1211 - Reported Historic Asbestos Mines, Historic Asbestos Prospects, and Natural Asbestos Occurrences in the Rocky Mountain States of the United States (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, and Wyoming)
OF-2007-1182 - Reported Historic Asbestos Mines, Historic Asbestos Prospects, and Natural Asbestos Occurrences in the Southwestern United States (Arizona, Nevada, and Utah)
OF-2008-1095 - Reported Historic Asbestos Mines, Historic Asbestos Prospects, and Other Natural Occurrences of Asbestos in Oregon and Washington
OF-2010-1041 - Tabulation of Asbestos-related Terminology
OF-02-458 - A USGS Study of Talc Deposits and Associated Amphibole Asbestos within Mined Deposits of the Southern Death Valley Region, California
OF-2004-1092 - Worldwide Asbestos Supply and Consumption Trends from 1900 through 2003
Circular 1298 (Supersedes Open-File Report OF-03-083)
Note: Data are updated via the Mineral Industry Surveys publication listed in the annual publication section of this page.