Diseases Linked to Asbestos

From studies of people who were exposed to asbestos in factories and shipyards, we know that breathing high levels of asbestos fibers can lead to an increased risk of:

• Asbestosis
  
  Asbestosis occurs when asbestos fibers become lodged in the lungs, irritating the lung tissues and inflaming the small air tubes and sacs in the lungs. As the inflammation heals, permanent scar tissue, called fibrosis, remains. The scarring will cause shortness in breath which will grow worse over time. Other symptoms include chest pain and coughing. Although most symptoms are similar to those of other breathing disorders, such as asthma, the way in which they develop is different. In asbestosis the effects of the disease are insidious, occurring over months and years. Usually, asbestosis is found in people who have been exposed to asbestos over a long period of time and symptoms will not appear for 20 to 30 years after initial exposure. There is no cure for asbestosis.
  
  
• Lung Cancer
  
  Lung cancer is five times more common in people exposed to asbestos than in individuals who have not been exposed. Early symptoms are coughing, chest pains, and coughing up blood. Smoking greatly increases the risk of developing lung cancer from exposure to asbestos. A smoker who is heavily exposed to asbestos is 30 to 90 times more likely to develop lung cancer than a nonsmoker. However, as with asbestosis, proper precautions can help to reduce the risk of contracting asbestos-related lung cancer. There is usually no cure for this disease, but if the cancer is detected early, it may be surgically treated.
  
  
• Mesothelioma
  
  Mesothelioma is a rare and deadly form of cancer. A history of exposure to asbestos is reported in 70 to 80 percent of all cases. It is truly an "asbestos cancer" and may result from relatively light exposure to asbestos. This cancer occurs in the lining of the chest and abdomen. Smoking does not appear to increase the risk of mesothelioma. Early symptoms are shortness of breath or pain in the chest or abdomen. These and other symptoms of mesothelioma may not appear until 30 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos. There is no cure for mesothelioma, and most of the victims die within the first year of diagnosis.

Exposure to asbestos is also thought to result in cancers of the throat, esophagus, stomach, colon, rectum, and gastrointestinal tract, though evidence is inconclusive. These diseases may be caused by the victim swallowing some of the longer asbestos fibers that have been caught in the upper air passages. The fibers are then carried to the throat in mucus.

The risk of contracting these diseases depends on the amount of asbestos exposure, the length of time, and the number of times you are exposed. The risk of lung cancer from inhaling asbestos fibers is also greater if you smoke. In addition, people working with asbestos are not the only ones subject to these diseases. Family members and others close to the worker may develop asbestos related diseases secondhand through prolonged exposure to the fibers attached to clothing.

Most people exposed to small amounts of asbestos, as we all are in our daily lives, do not develop these health problems. Harmful exposure comes from "friable" asbestos which is asbestos that may be crumbled by hand pressure and "non-friable" asbestos, bound asbestos that is sawed, drilled, scraped or sanded. This material releases fibers of various sizes into the air. The smaller fibers, which are only visible with a microscope, can remain in the air for long periods of time. When inhaled, some of the large fibers may lodge in the nose, but the smaller ones travel through the upper airways and become embedded in the lungs.

If you must work with asbestos, follow safety guidelines carefully in order to protect yourself, your family, and the general public. It is highly recommended that you hire a contractor who is trained and qualified to handle asbestos.