Asbestos: By Any Other Name, Is It Still?
Glenn, R.E., Lee, R.J., Jastrem, L.M., Bunker, K.L., Van Orden, D.R., Strohmeier, B.R., "Asbestos: By Any Other Name, Is It Still?", Occupational Safety and Health Reporter, Vol. 38, No. 22, pp. 428-433, 2008.

Abstract
Asbestos is a generic term used to refer to a group of mineral forms that share a unique
set of physical properties. Today, the six mineral structures now identified by OSHA and by
the mineralogical definition as ‘‘asbestos'' are those currently regulated in the United States
and those that all industries governed by OSHA must keep within permissible exposure limits
set out by the agency's regulations. The authors of this article say NIOSH seeks to revise
the definition of asbestos to eliminate the distinction between the asbestiform and the nonasbestiform
varieties of the relevant minerals. They say there is a lack of scientific evidence
of a significant risk from exposure to the non-asbestiform varieties and argue that expanding
the definition of asbestos would be severely economically damaging.