Asbestos Effects

Asbestos is the name of a group of similar minerals with separable, long, and thin fibers. Asbestos has been commonly used as an acoustic insulator, thermal insulation, fire proofing and in other building materials. Asbestos fibers are incredibly strong and have properties that make them resistant to heat. Many products are in use today that contain asbestos. Asbestos may be found in ceilings, wall and pipe coverings, floor tiles, patching and coating materials and a wide variety of cement and wall boards. Asbestos has also been used in household appliances such as toasters, ovens and heating and cooling systems.

Asbestos fibers are so small they cannot be seen. These tiny fibers are only dangerous if they are disturbed, causing fibers to float in the air and allowing them to be easily inhaled. Asbestos has long been recognized as a health threat to humans, because the fibers can be inhaled and are difficult to remove from the lungs.

Asbestos effects can have a serious problem on your health. There is no known safe exposure to asbestos and the more you are exposed to asbestos, the greater chance you have of developing an asbestos-related disease, such as lung cancer, mesothelioma (a rare cancer of the lining of the chest and abdomen lining), asbestosis, cancer of the stomach, intestines, and rectum.

There are the most common disease caused by asbestos effects :

• Lung cancer is cancer that starts in the lungs. Cancer is a disease where cancerous cells grow out of control, taking over normal cells and organs in the body.
• Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos. In this disease, malignant cells develop in the mesothelium, a protective lining that covers most of the body’s internal organs.
• Asbestosis is a chronic inflammatory medical condition affecting the parenchymal tissue of the lungs. It occurs after long-term, heavy exposure to asbestos, e.g. in mining, and is therefore regarded as an occupational lung disease. Sufferers have severe dyspnea and are at an increased risk regarding several different types of lung cancer.

Acute exposure to asbestos fibres does not produce immediate acute effects other than some irritancy of skin, eyes and lungs with high concentrations. Temporary breathing difficulties have been reported in individuals exposed to high concentrations of asbestos dust. Short-term high level exposure to asbestos has been associated with lung cancer, mesothelioma and pleural disorders such as pleural plaques although risks are likely to be very low.

You maybe interested in reading this too : primary peritoneal cancer and pleural cancer.