Cold Most of Antarctica is a high, flat plateau of ice covered in snow throughout the year. The snow reflects the sun's solar radiation, and this combined with the altitude (an average of 14,000 feet above sea level) makes the interior of Antarctica the coldest place on Earth. The lowest recorded Antarctic temperature was taken at Vostok Station in July 1983: -89.2Â°C (-128.6Â°F). The lowest South Pole temperature is from June 23, 1982: -82.8Â°C (-117.0Â°F). The warmest temperature ever recorded at the South Pole, recorded at the height of the austral summer, December 25, 2011, was still well below freezing: -12.3Â°C (+9.9Â°F). An example of a sun pillar.
Although the Environmental Protection Agency banned most asbestos-containing products on July 12, 1989, this ruling was overturned in 1991 by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. Fortunately, this later ruling did not overturn the ban on all asbestos materials. Some of the products that remain banned after this overruling are flooring felt, rollboard, and corrugated commercial, or specialty, paper as well as all ânew usesâ of asbestos.
Some of the first uses of asbestos insulation occurred in the latter half of the 1800s where hot-temperature pipes were a concern. Heat insulation containing asbestos was used for the first time in 1866. A few years later in 1870, the mineral was mixed with cement for boiler coverings. By 1874, asbestos insulation products reached commercial production and were sold on a mass scale. Bans on this type of insulation didnât occur until the 1970s.