Can the toxicity of asbestos be reduced?

Asbestos, an extremely useful natural resource, has been studied extensively mineralogically and for industrial application. Its extraction from ores has been greatly improved with respect to safety in the work place. In spite of that, there is a decisive effort in many countries to ban its use on the grounds that it is a toxic substance. This action resulted in drastic decrease in production and the possibility of destroying the industry. The chelation of asbestos with organic dyes seems to be a promising way to abate its toxicity. Dyeing can be done when the fi bers are slurred in water at ambient conditions in the same way as textile fi bers.