Health Risks of Asbestos

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The Issue

Asbestos was a popular material used widely in construction and many other industries. If asbestos fibres are enclosed or tightly bound in a product, for example in asbestos siding or asbestos floor tiles, there are no significant health risks. Asbestos poses health risks only when fibres are present in the air that people breathe.

Background

Asbestos is the generic name for a variety of fibrous minerals found naturally in rock formations around the world. Because asbestos fibres are strong, durable and non-combustible, they were widely used by industry, mainly in construction and friction materials. Commercial asbestos fibres belong in two broad mineralogical groups: serpentine (chrysotile) and amphibole (tremolite, actinolyte and others).

• Amphibole asbestos often contains more iron and resists acid and extremely high temperatures. Because of this, it has been heavily used in industrial furnaces and heating systems. However when inhaled, amphibole fibres stay much longer in the lungs than chrysotile fibres and they are more likely to inflict damage and cause disease, including cancer. Accordingly, amphibole asbestos has been drastically controlled and largely replaced.
• Chrysotile is the onl