Asbestos Fibers

Thurs, 29 Nov 2007 04:47:18 -0500

The risk of lung cancer from inhaling asbestos fibers is also greater if you smoke. Awareness that one form of asbestos fibers is more toxic than another should hopefully lead to decreased use of the pathogenic amphibole fibers. There is no level at which exposure to asbestos fibers is deemed to be free of risk. The physical diameter of asbestos fibers is fixed and depends on the chrystalline structure of the fiber. A smoker, exposed to asbestos fibers is at least 50 times more likely to develop lung cancer than a nonsmoker exposed to asbestos.

Asbestos Exposure

Thurs, 29 Nov 2007 04:47:18 -0500

Asbestos exposure is linked to asbestosis, lung cancer, and an aggressive cancer called mesothelioma. Asbestos exposure is also known to cause a non-cancerous disease called asbestosis, which involves scarring of the lung tissue. The results support the hypothesis that asbestos exposure is associated with autoimmune responses and suggests that a relationship exists between those responses and asbestos-related disease processes. These results suggest that asbestos exposure is not associated with increases in RF, especially because previous studies of asbestos-exposed populations have not consistently reported elevated RF.