by 3 hours ago
ANSWERS: 2
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According to the national safety council, the very moment you breath in invisible asbestos fibers at high levels you have an increased risk for cancer. Take a look at this excerpt from the official website: What Are the Health Effects? The most dangerous asbestos fibers are too small to be visible. They can become airborne when asbestos-containing materials are disturbed or during improper removal. Once they are inhaled, the fibers can remain and accumulate in the lungs. Breathing high levels of asbestos fibers can lead to an increased risk of lung cancer, mesothelioma (a cancer of the chest and abdominal linings), and asbestosis (irreversible lung scarring that can be fatal). The risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma increases with the number of fibers inhaled. The risk of lung cancer is also greater to people who smoke. Symptoms of these diseases do not show up until many years after exposure begins. Most people with asbestos-related diseases were exposed to elevated concentrations on the job. Read up on asbestos safety! go to the website at: http://www.nsc.org/library/facts/asbestos.htm
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It depends on the type of asbestos. As I wrote in another answer (http://www.answerbag.com/a_view.php/54746), the most common type of asbestos, chrysotile, is perfectly harmless. It's the two other, less common, types, crocidolite and amosite, are the ones that cause the problems and it does not take much exposure to dust from these minerals to cause cancer. However, since there is a huge difference in the risk from the different types of asbestos, you should ask what type of asbestos you have been exposed to before you start panicking. Odds are it is the harmless type.
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