David N. Weissman, M.D.’s Testimony: Risk of Adverse Health Effects From Asbestos Exposure

Read more from the testimony of Dr. Weissman, who spoke before the Senate’s Committee on the Environment and Public Works about the dangers of asbestos. In this section, he explains the risk of exposure to this dangerous mineral.

The risk of developing adverse health effects from asbestos is related to the amount and duration of exposure to airborne asbestos fibers.

Exposure occurs in the occupational setting when microscopic asbestos fibers become airborne during various industrial processes or from handling of asbestos-containing materials. The fibers can then be inhaled and/or swallowed.

In the lungs, asbestos fibers can interact with cellular targets such as alveolar macrophages and alveolar epithelial cells, inducing a chain of events leading to scarring and/or cancer in the lungs.

Key factors associated with the carcinogenic potential of asbestos fibers include: particle length (longer fibers are more toxic than shorter fibers); diameter (fibers < 3 micrometers in diameter are more likely than thicker fibers to be inhaled into the lungs, and fibers < 0.5 micrometers in diameter are more likely to migrate through lung tissue to the pleura); and biopersistence (fibers able to persist in the lung and not be cleared from the lung by physiological lung defense mechanisms are more likely to cause adverse health effects).

Courtesy of EPA

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