Health Risks of Asbestos

Asbestos poses health risks only when fibres present in the air that people inhale.How exposure to asbestos can affect you depends on: The concentration of asbestos fibres in the air; How long the exposure lasted; How often you were exposed; The size of the asbestos, fibres inhaled; The amount of time since the initial exposure.When inhaled in significant quantities, asbestos fibres can cause asbestosis(a scarring of the lungs which makes breathing difficult), mesothelioma (a rare cancer of the lining of the chest or abdominal cavity) and lung cancer. The link between exposure to asbestos and other types of cancers is less clear.Smoking, combined with inhaled asbestos, greatly increase the risk of lung cancer.

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