Claude Doy, age 15, of Quebec, for s question:

Where do they get asbestos?

Asbestos may be woven into cloth, rolled into felt or pressed into paper, and can make it behave like a textile. Most textiles, however, are woven from plant, animal or synthetic fibers. Asbestos is a mineral formed in the ground. Unlike other minerals, it comes in long, silky threads, tightly wadded together. And, because it is a mineral, asbestos has a great advantage over organic fibers. It is very tough and it refuses to burn.

The elements from which asbestos is made are magnesium, silicon, hydrogen and oxygen. It usually forms in dark metamorphic rocks. Most likely, hot water from springs and geysers helped to make it.

Canada is the world's greatest producer of asbestos. Vast amounts of fine grade mineral are mined and quarried around Thetford and asbestos in the Province of Quebec. Russia, South Africa, Italy and Cyprus also have asbestos mines or quarries. And some is produced in Arizona, Vermont, Maryland and California in the United States