Even if the walls or roof are not in good condition, the number of fibres released is very small. Asbestos fibres are most likely to be released if asbestos-containing material is disturbed, for example, during home renovations that involve drilling, cutting, sawing or breaking of the asbestos-containing material. Ways to work safely with asbestos are outlined in Asbestos in the home, which is available from the Department of Health.
During a fire, the amount of asbestos fibres released into the air is relatively low. Air monitoring after fires has confirmed this. However, asbestos clumps and some fibres may remain in the ash and may present a risk if disturbed while cleaning up after a fire.
Dust should be wetted down and protective personal equipment dust mask, gloves and coveralls should be worn. In the event of asbestos-containing materials being burnt on your property, a licensed asbestos removalist should be arranged to perform the clean-up work.
Asbestos fibres can cause health problems if they are breathed in. The body will remove most fibres that are breathed in, but some may get trapped in the lungs and cause disease many years later. Breathing in asbestos fibres can sometimes lead to:. Asbestosis is not a cancer. It is a chronic and progressive lung disease caused by inhaling asbestos fibres over a long period of time.
It may take five to 20 years before symptoms develop. The accumulated, inhaled asbestos fibres produce scarring fibrosis of the lung. Asbestosis causes breathlessness, tightness in the chest, persistent coughing and the skin may have a bluish tinge from lack of oxygen. Getting enough oxygen from each breath needs a much greater effort. Asbestosis usually worsens over time. It can lead to respiratory failure and death.
There is no cure for this disease. Asbestosis can be diagnosed by x-ray fibrosis looks cloudy in chest x-rays or a lung function test. If you have been exposed to asbestos in the past, it is important to stop smoking to reduce your risk of getting asbestosis. If you stop smoking, you also reduce your risk of getting lung cancer. People exposed to large amounts of asbestos fibres over a long period of time have a significant risk of developing lung cancer. The risk is many times greater in people who also smoke.
The tumour, if not treated early, spreads through the lung and eventually to other parts of the body. The most common symptom people first notice is a persistent cough. It usually takes 10 to 20 years for lung cancer to develop after asbestos exposure. The pleura is the tissue that lines the chest cavity and covers the surface of the lungs.
Asbestos may produce thickened patches on the pleura pleural plaques or a widespread fibrosis of the pleura and pleural effusions fluid in the chest cavity. These conditions will show up on chest x-rays but they are not cancerous. They may not cause symptoms but will reduce lung capacity as shown in lung function tests. This rare cancer affects the pleura, the outer covering of the lungs.
It is strongly associated with past exposure to asbestos. The tumour begins in the pleura and spreads to the lung and chest wall. There is no cure currently available. It can take 30 to 40 years after exposure for asbestos to develop and be diagnosed. Australia has the highest national rate of reported mesothelioma in the world, presumably related to the large amount of asbestos used in the past. You can also get advice on benefits and compensation on the British Lung Foundation website.
Page last reviewed: 04 August Next review due: 04 August Asbestosis is a serious lung condition caused by long-term exposure to asbestos.
Am I at risk? Examples include: heating and ventilation engineers demolition workers plumbers construction workers electricians For more information on who could be at risk, read Health and Safety Executive HSE : am I at risk? Symptoms of asbestosis Breathing in asbestos fibres over many years eventually causes scarring of the lungs. Symptoms include: shortness of breath persistent cough wheezing extreme tiredness fatigue pain in your chest or shoulder in more advanced cases, clubbed swollen fingertips It can take 20 to 30 years before symptoms appear.
When to see a GP You should see a GP if you have symptoms of asbestosis and think you may have been exposed to asbestos. The GP will listen to your lungs and ask about your work history. If building materials that contain asbestos like older insulation and ceiling and floor tiles begin to decompose over time, asbestos fibers can be found in indoor air and may pose a health threat.
There is no health risk if the asbestos is bonded into intact finished products, such as walls and tiles. As long as the material is not damaged or disturbed for example, by drilling or remodeling , the fibers are not released into the air.
Maintenance workers who sweep up and dispose of the asbestos dust or handle damaged asbestos-containing materials are often exposed to higher levels than other people in these buildings. Removing asbestos from homes and other buildings can also cause some exposure, although modern asbestos abatement workers are trained to use proper protective equipment to minimize exposure.
Although use of asbestos has declined in the United States, people can still be exposed to asbestos in the workplace. In recent years, the US Occupational Health and Safety Administration OSHA has estimated that over a million American employees in construction and general industries face significant asbestos exposure on the job.
The mining and use of asbestos is also still a health hazard in some other parts of the world. Mining in the Russian Federation, China, Kazakhstan, Brazil, Canada, and Zimbabwe accounts for almost all of the world production of asbestos.
Much of what is produced is used in the Russian Federation and other countries in the former Soviet Union and Asia, and its use is on the rise in some areas. In , the World Health Organization estimated that about million people worldwide were exposed to asbestos at work, despite the known links to cancer and other lung diseases for more than 60 years. In most cases neither type of study provides enough evidence on its own, so researchers usually look at both human and lab-based studies when trying to figure out if something causes cancer.
Evidence from studies in both people and lab animals has shown that asbestos can increase the risk for some types of cancer. When asbestos fibers in the air are inhaled, they can stick to mucus in the throat, trachea windpipe , or bronchi large breathing tubes of the lungs and might be cleared by being coughed up or swallowed. But some fibers reach the ends of the small airways in the lungs or penetrate into the outer lining of the lung and chest wall known as the pleura. These fibers can irritate the cells in the lung or pleura and eventually cause lung cancer or mesothelioma.
Inhalation of asbestos fibers has been linked to an increased risk of lung cancer in many studies of asbestos-exposed workers. In general, the greater the exposure to asbestos, the higher the risk of lung cancer.
Most cases of lung cancer in asbestos workers occur at least 15 years after first exposure to asbestos. In workers exposed to asbestos who also smoke, the lung cancer risk is even greater than adding the risks from these exposures separately.
Mesothelioma is a fairly rare form of cancer that most often affects the thin linings of the organs in the chest pleura and abdomen peritoneum. Mesothelioma is closely linked with asbestos exposure. All forms of asbestos have been linked to mesothelioma, although amphibole asbestos appears to cause this cancer at lower levels of exposure than chrysotile asbestos. Most cases of mesothelioma result from exposure to asbestos at work.
There is also an increased risk of mesothelioma among family members of workers and people living in neighborhoods near asbestos factories and mines. Although the risk of mesothelioma increases with the amount of asbestos exposure, there is no clear safe level of asbestos exposure in terms of mesothelioma risk.
Mesotheliomas typically take a long time to develop. The time between first exposure to asbestos and diagnosis of mesothelioma is usually 30 years or more. Unfortunately, the risk of mesothelioma does not drop with time after exposure to asbestos. The risk appears to be lifelong.
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