Question

asbestos workers were more likely to be incorrectly diagnosed as suffering from lung cancer than men in england and wales ?

Answer 1

What is asbestos?

Asbestos is a group of minerals that occur naturally as bundles of fibers. These fibers are found in soil and rocks in many parts of the world. They are made mainly of silicon and oxygen, but they also contain other elements. There are 2 main types of asbestos:

• Chrysotile asbestos, also known as white asbestos, is the most common type of asbestos in industrial applications. When looked at under the microscope, chrysotile asbestos fibers wrap around themselves in a spiral, which is why this form of asbestos is also called serpentine or curly asbestos.
• Amphibole asbestos fibers are straight and needle-like. There are several types of amphibole fibers, including amosite (brown asbestos), crocidolite (blue asbestos), tremolite, actinolite, and anthophyllite.

Both types of asbestos have been linked with cancer. Asbestos fibers can be useful because they are strong, resistant to heat and too many chemicals, and do not conduct electricity.

How are people exposed to asbestos?

People can be exposed to asbestos in different ways:

• Inhaling asbestos: Most exposures come from inhaling asbestos fibers in the air. This can occur during the mining and processing of asbestos, when making asbestos-containing products, or when installing asbestos insulation. It can also occur when older buildings are demolished or renovated, or when older asbestos-containing materials begin to break down. In any of these situations, asbestos fibers tend to create a dust made of tiny particles that can float in the air.
• Swallowing asbestos: Asbestos fibers can also be swallowed. This can happen when people consume contaminated food or liquids (such as water that flows through asbestos cement pipes). It can also occur when people cough up asbestos they have inhaled and then swallow their saliva.

Many people are exposed to very low levels of naturally occurring asbestos in outdoor air as a result of erosion of asbestos-containing rocks. The risk of this is higher in areas where rocks have higher asbestos content. In some areas, asbestos can be detected in the water supply as well as in the air. It can get into the water through several sources, such as rock or soil erosion, corrosion of asbestos cement pipes, or the breakdown of roofing materials containing asbestos that then enter the sewers after it rains. However, the people with the heaviest exposure are those who worked in asbestos industries, such as shipbuilding and insulation. Many of these people recall working in thick clouds of asbestos dust, day after day.

Although the use of asbestos has declined in the United States, people can still be exposed to asbestos in the workplace. In recent years, the US Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) has estimated that over a million American employees in construction and general industries face significant asbestos exposure on the job.

Lung cancer- Inhalation of asbestos fibers has been linked to an increased risk of lung cancer in many studies of asbestos-exposed workers. This increased risk is seen with all forms of asbestos (there is no “safe” type of asbestos in terms of lung cancer risk). In general, the greater the exposure to asbestos, the higher the risk of lung cancer. Most cases of lung cancer in asbestos workers occur at least 15 years after the first exposure to asbestos. In workers exposed to asbestos who also smoke, the lung cancer risk is even greater than adding the risks from these exposures separately.