Health Effects from Exposure to Asbestos and Mineral Fibers

Read the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) report about the health effects from exposure to asbestos and mineral fibers to which miners are routinely exposed.

Asbestosis is a type of pneumoconiosis which results from the inhalation of asbestos fibers, and is also referred to as interstitial fibrosis. Fibers lodge in the lungs, causing a scar that may continue to grow even though there may be no further exposure to asbestos.

Lung cancer is a simple term for carcinoma of the bronchus. Lung cancer is associated with all types of asbestos and is related to the degree of asbestosis present in the lungs and also to cigarette smoking, which greatly enhances the cancer-causing properties of asbestos.

High rates of lung cancer have been observed in miners exposed directly and indirectly to asbestos dust.

Mesothelioma, another cancer associated with asbestos exposure, is a tumor made up of cells from the pleura (chest lining) or peritoneum (abdominal lining). Cancer of the gastrointestinal tract and of the larynx have also been associated with exposure to asbestos fibers.

Full-shift Limit: No miner shall be exposed to an 8-hour, time-weighted average airborne concentration of asbestos dust which exceeds 2 fibers, greater than 5 µm in length, per milliliter of air, as determined by the membrane filter method.

Short-term Limit: No miner shall be exposed at any time to airborne concentrations of asbestos fibers in excess of 10 fibers, longer than 5 µm, per milliliter of air, as determined by the membrane filter method over a minimum sampling time of 15 minutes.

Courtesy of MSHA

Other helpful links:

Asbestos Asbestos
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