What is Asbestos?

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1. What is asbestos?

?Asbestos? is the name given to a group of minerals that occurnaturally as bundles of fibers which can be separated into thinthreads. These fibers are not affected by heat or chemicals and do not conduct electricity. For these reasons, asbestos has been widely used in many industries. Four types of asbestos have been used commercially:



• Chrysotile, or white asbestos;
  
  
• Crocidolite, or blue asbestos;
  
  
• Amosite, which usually has brown fibers; and
  
  
• Anthophyllite, which usually has gray fibers.

Chrysotile asbestos, with its curly fibers, is in the serpentinefamily of minerals. The other types of asbestos, which all have rod-like fibers, are known as amphiboles.

Asbestos fiber masses tend to break easily into a dust composed of tiny particles that can float in the air and stick toclothes. The f ibers may be easily inhaled or swallowed and can causes erious health problems.

2. How is asbestos used?
3. What are the health hazards of exposure to asbestos?

Exposure to asbestos may increase the risk of several serious diseases:



• Asbestosis? a chronic lung ailment that can produce shortness of breath, coughing, and permanent lung damage;

• Lung cancer;

• Mesothelioma?a relatively rare cancer of the thin membranes that line the chest and abdomen; and

• Other cancers, such as those of the larynx, oropharynx, gastrointestinal tract, and kidney.
4. Who is at risk?

Nearly everyone is exposed to asbestos at some time during their life. However, most people do not become ill from their exposure. People who become ill from asbestos are usually those who are exposed to it on a regular basis, most often in a job where they work directly with the material or through substantial environmental contact.

Since the early 1940s, millions of American workers have been exposed to asbestos. Health hazards from asbestos fibers have been recognized in workers exposed in shipbuilding trades, asbestos mining and milling, manufacturing of asbestos textiles and other asbestos products, insulation work in the construction and building trades, brake repair, and a variety of other trades. Demolition workers, drywall removers, and firefighters also may be exposed to asbestos fibers. As a result of Government regulations and improved work practices, today's workers (those without previous exposure) are likely to face smaller risks than did those exposed in the past.

Although it is known that the risk to workers increases with heavier exposure and longer exposure time, investigators have found asbestos-related diseases in individuals with only brief exposures. Generally, those who develop asbestos-related diseases show no signs of illness for a long time after their first exposure. It can take from 10 to 40 years for symptoms of an asbestos-related condition to appear.

There is some evidence that family members of workers heavily exposed to asbestos face an increased risk of developing mesothelioma. This risk is thought to result from exposure to asbestos fibers brought into the home on th e shoes, clothing, skin, and hair of workers. This type of exposure is called para occupational exposure. To decrease these exposures, people exposed to asbestos at work are required to shower and change their clothing before leaving the workplace.

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