Asbestos Heath Effects

Asbestos Health Effects

Connelly Asbestos Law Firm

How Does Asbestos Affect My Health?


Exposure to airborne friable asbestos may result in a potential health risk because persons breathing the air may breathe in asbestos fibers. Continued exposure can increase the amount of fibers that remain in the lung. Fibers embedded in lung tissue over time may cause serious lung diseases including asbestosis, lung cancer, or mesothelioma.

CONTACT US

Asbestos Groups


Asbestos is broken down into two subgroups: the amphibole family and the serpentine family. The amphibole family includes crocidolite (known as “blue asbestos”), amosite (also known as “brown asbestos”), tremolite, anthophyllite, and actinolite. The serpentine family consists only of chrysotile (known as “white asbestos”). In spite of Chrysotile’s dangerous properties, it was extremely popular in industrial products and accounts for approximately 90% of the asbestos used commercially in the United States.

Asbestosis

Asbestosis is a serious, progressive, long-term, non-cancerous disease of the lungs. It is caused by inhaling asbestos fibers that irritate lung tissues and cause the tissues to scar. The scarring makes it hard for oxygen to get into the blood. Symptoms of asbestosis include shortness of breath and a dry, crackling sound in the lungs while inhaling. There is no effective treatment for asbestosis.

Lung Cancer

Lung cancer causes the largest number of deaths related to asbestos exposure. People who work in the mining, milling, manufacturing of asbestos, and those who use asbestos and its products are more likely to develop lung cancer than the general population. People who have been exposed to asbestos and also are exposed to some other cancer-causing product, such as cigarette smoke, have a greater risk of developing lung cancer than people who have only been exposed to asbestos.

Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that is found in the thin lining (membrane) of the lung, chest, abdomen, and heart and almost all cases are linked to exposure to asbestos. This disease may not show up until many years after asbestos exposure.

Share by: