About Asbestos Exposure

Is there a medical test for exposure to asbestos?

Normal chest X-Rays do not detect asbestos fibers. There are tests that can detect asbestos in bodily fluids, but these are not particularly useful in predicting the on-set of asbestos diseases because everyone has some asbestos in his or her body. High levels of asbestos can indicate exposure to asbestos, but that doesn't necessarily mean you will develop lung cancer, mesothelioma, or asbestosis.

Doctors focus more on symptoms that may indicate the onset of disease, and use any indication of asbestos exposure as another factor in making their diagnoses.

One reason asbestos is such a health hazard is that it is so insidious. It's a rock. The body doesn't break it down, and it can build up in the food chain.

Exposure to asbestos

In our modern industrial society, everybody has been exposed to ambient levels of asbestos in the air and water. The material was so widely used and is still present in so many buildings that it is impossible to escape all exposure. Public health officials focus on people who have been exposed to high levels of asbestos, usually at their workplaces.

Of particular concern are people who worked before 1975 in

• Shipyards
• Pipe fitting
• Plasterers
• Power Plant Workers
• Drywall Tapers
• Roofers and slaters
• Oil refinery workers

Also of concern are

• Family members of asbestos workers
• Long-time residents of towns with asbestos plants or mines

What are the safe levels of asbestos?

Many scientists have concluded that there are no safe levels.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has established a limit of 7000 long asbestos fibers per cubic centimeter for drinking water.

In 1986 the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued two standards, one for occupational exposure to asbestos in general industry workplaces, the other applicable to construction workplaces. The standards shared the same permissible exposure limit and most ancillary requirements. Both standards reduced the 8-hour time weighted average permissible exposure limit tenfold to 0.2 fibers/cubic centimeter from the previous 2 fibers/cc limit. Specific provisions were added in the construction standard to cover unique hazards relating to asbestos abatement and demolition jobs.

Asbestos exposure has been identified as the primary cause of malignant mesothelioma. Usually, it takes around 20-50 years or more for the symptoms to manifest after the initial exposure to asbestos. Although the average latency period ranges from 35 to 40 years, there have been instances where it was less than 20 years.

Probability of a mesothelioma occurrence increases proportionately to the amount and duration of exposure to asbestos. However, several cases have been documented where individuals diagnosed with mesothelioma did not have any significant occupational exposure or even household exposure. There have been cases of individuals getting diagnosed with mesothelioma 30-40 years after a summer job at a construction site, and also cases of children and housewives getting exposed through work clothing. Many individuals recently diagnosed with mesothelioma were potentially exposed to asbestos many years ago in the navy, often inadvertently. Asbestos was also used in many school buildings.

Despite popular belief, use of asbestos is not prohibited in the U.S. There has been a move to ban asbestos in some countries, but the problem will remain even if new product sales (involving asbestos) are banned because the material is already present in numerous old buildings. According to estimates provided by the World Health Organization, 125 million individuals worldwide are exposed to asbestos at their jobs every year and the total number of mortalities arising from this is around 90,000.