WHAT IS ASBESTOS?

Asbestos is a flexible mineral fiber that was widely used in many industrial products and materials for its fireproof quality and resistance to electricity and chemical damage. In addition to being indestructible, asbestos fibers are difficult to see, smell or taste and cause diseases that take years to manifest. Consequently, many are unknowingly exposed to this hazardous mineral. Inhaling asbestos fibers is associated with numerous types of cancer including mesothelioma and other deadly asbestos-related diseases of the lung.

THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF ASBESTOS

Asbestos, when inhaled, may cause cancer by physically rather than chemically irritating cells. When non-asbestos fibers are inhaled, most are cleared in the nose, throat, windpipe or large breathing tubes of the lungs because they stick to mucus inside the air passages and are coughed up or swallowed. Asbestos fibers, however, are less readily cleared, and may reach the ends of the small airways and penetrate into the lining of the lung and chest wall. These fibers may then directly injure cells of the lining eventually causing mesothelioma.

Asbestos can also damage cells of the lung and result in asbestosis (formation of scar tissue in the lung) and lung cancer. The risk of lung cancer among people exposed to asbestos is seven times greater than that of the general population. Abdominal cancer may result from coughing up and swallowing inhaled asbestos fibers. Cancers of the larynx, pancreas, esophagus, colon, and kidney have also been linked to asbestos exposure.

TYPES OF ASBESTOS

There are two main forms of asbestos - serpentine and amphiboles. The three most common forms of asbestos traditionally used in product manufacturing are chrysotile, amosite, and crocidolite.

Serpentine

Chrysotile asbestos is the only type of serpentine fiber and is the most widely used form of asbestos. Used predominantly in products manufactured in the United States, these fibers are curly and pliable and have been associated with malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer, and all other forms of asbestos disease.

Amphiboles

Amphiboles are thin, rod-like asbestos fibers. Of the five main types of amphiboles asbestos, amosite and crocidolite are the most carcinogenic (cancer-causing).