# lámina de asbestos



## Barbara S.

High quality corrugated roofs in Mexico are called lámina de asbestos. Someone told me that in AE they are called fiberglass. Is this true? If not, what are they called?

Thanks for your help.


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## clau420ep

To my understanding corrugated roof sheeting (láminas) are made of different material.  One is the asbestos corrugated roof sheeting (láminas de asbestos) and another is the fiberglass corrugated roof sheeting.  Fiberglass is plastic and has become more common than asbestos.  They are not one in the same.


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## Barbara S.

OK Here's the question: There is no such thing as "asbestos" corrugated roof sheeting in English. In the U.S. asbestos was a mineral that added to other products (like brakes or roof tiles) as a fire retardant. In Mexico "asbestos" is a generic word, similar to "lead" in reference to lead pencils (which do not contain any lead). So if "asbestos" roofing is not made of asbestos what is it made of? You say that in Lima fiberglass is more common than asbestos. Where I am in Mexico the option is between metal and asbestos, but it is possible that asbestos is actually fiberglass.


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## David

It is possible that asbestos has come to mean something other than asbestos in Mexico, but it seems unlikely. Corrugated roofing material made of concrete and asbestos is marketed in Latin America under the brand name Tejalit (teja, _tile, shingle_ + -lit), by the same people who years ago invented a wallboard made of wood fiber and adhesives and called Fibrolit. Fibreglass is another material, made from glass fibers of course, from which roofing and other "láminas" or panels are made for construction, boats, waterproofing, etc. Fibra de vidrio is not Tejalit.

Fibreglass _láminas_, somewhat thicker than sheets of corrugated steel galvanized with zinc (_"zinc," in Sp._), are usually called "panels" in English. The metal, corrugated roofing "láminas"are usually called sheets in English. Tejalit would be called "panels" if it were sold in the U.S., not sheets, because they are thicker than metal "sheets." The -lit ending in Spanish is a daughter of the English ending -lite, as in the precursor of modern plastics called Bakelite, from which old-fashioned heavy, black telephones were made, the "lamina" called Masonite, etc.

The asbestos-concrete roofing called "Tejalit" is not widely available in the US because asbestos-based products are considered dangerous. I have seen numerous houses in South America with  Tejalit roofs, but I have never seen the product here in the U.S.


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## Barbara S.

Tejalit does not seem to be marketed in Mexico. But that doesn't mean that it's not the same as local brands. It seems in Mexico that all corrugated roofing sheets that aren't metal are called and sold as asbestos. According to some manufacturers specs some products do not contain asbestos. In fact, Mexico subscribes to internation protocals that do not permit the use of asbestos. Hence my confusion.


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## David

is this thread still around?

If the original says asbestos, I think you should say "asbestos" in the translation. If there is sound reason to believe that the roofing that is the subject of the translation does _not_ contain asbestos, and you do not want to mislead the reader, you can either ask the author to modify the original, or if that is not possible, you can add a note saying,

["Asbestos" per original, but the term is used in general sense to refer also to corrugated roofing made of other non-metallic materials.--Trans. N.]

You could also say fibreglass in the note, if in fact they are made of fibreglass, but there are many kinds of plastic, concrete, fiber and other materials used in corrugated roofing panels that are not fiberglass.


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## Barbara S.

I am the writer. I am writing an article in English about my Mexican house. In Mexico, if I say I have an asbestos roof on my porch, everyone knows what I mean. That would not work in English.


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## 0scar

En Argentina  se habla de _chapa acanalada de fibrocemento  _para las que incluyen  _asbesto_ y al _asbesto_ es más común decirle _amianto.
_Se usa_ chapa _aunque no sean de metal.

Las de_ fiberglass _son_ chapas acanaladas  de fibra de vidrio _o_ de plástico.

_La palabra _corrugado  _solo se usa para el_ cartón corrugado, _núnca para las chapas acanaldas de ningún tipo.


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## Barbara S.

Mystery solved. My builder tells me that the "lámina de asbestos" that covers my deck is really fibreglass.


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## cirrus

Thank God for that.  Asbestos is vile stuff. If you had tiles of it here, it would be classed as highly toxic industrial waste and would cost a fortune to get rid of. I wonder why Mexico doesn't use amianto - any ideas?


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## louis6

Im sorry to tell you but "Laminas De Asbesto" is laminas de asbesto. Se usa bastante en todos lugares de Latino America y el Asbesto no es illigal tampoco en los Estados unidos. Pero todos de Aqui en los E.U. no los venden por las demandas. Pero todavia se usa en brequas de cara y eso.
Yo Trabajo en el asbesto y en el Asbestos Testing. El Asbesto mata, y no mata facil y simple sino que es un cancer que hace ala persona sufrir con cada respiro hasta que ya no respira.
  Los que venden el Asbesto, venden muerte, y bastante peor para las personas que fuman. El fumar y el asbesto es casi segura de mesothelioma.


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