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Chapter 3Health Effects

Version 2012.1

Asbestos NESHAP Inspection and Safety Procedures Course

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Asbestos Health Effects Fact 1

Asbestos is a known carcinogen – can cause cancer

No known “safe” level of asbestos exposure

There is no certainty that a single exposure will cause sickness

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Asbestos Health Effects Fact 2

Asbestos fibers usually enter your body while airborne – breathed through mouth and nose

Can also be swallowed

To be released into the air, ACM and related dust and debris must be disturbed

Asbestos fibers do not enter via your eyes or through skin cuts

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Asbestos Health Effects Fact 3

Unlike some chemicals, there are NO immediate health effects from immediate or recent asbestos exposureMost asbestos diseases will take years to develop, if at allMany who contract asbestos disease had significant longer term (chronic) exposures at some point in their lifeIn rare cases, cancer has occurred with limited exposure - mesothelioma

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Paths of Entry

How does a contaminant enter our bodies? Inhalation

Primary route of entry for asbestos

IngestionSecondary route of entry for asbestos

Absorption Injection

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Respiratory SystemWhen you breathe, the air: enters the body through the

nose or the mouth travels down the throat through

the larynx (voice box) and trachea (windpipe)

goes into the lungs through tubes called main-stem bronchi

One main-stem bronchus leads to the right lung and one to the left lung

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Respiratory System

In the lungs … the main-stem bronchi

divide into smaller bronchi

smaller bronchi divide into even smaller tubes called bronchioles

bronchioles end in tiny air sacs called alveoli

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Mesothelium

A protective tissue, around the lungs and in the gut areaAround the lungs, it is called the pleuraAround the gut area, it is called the peritoneumAsbestos can effect the mesothelium in both areas

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Body Defenses

Nose Hair

Mucous

Cilia

White Blood Cells (Macrophage)

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Asbestos Health Effects

There are three major asbestos-related diseases Asbestosis Lung cancer Mesothelioma

Non-life threatening Pleural plaques and thickening Pleural effusion

Reported increased cancer risks Colon, pancreas and other organs

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Asbestosis

Scarring of lung tissue

Restrictive lung disease

Reduces lung capacity

Dose response relationship

Latency period is 15-30 years

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Medical Analyses

Asbestosis

Doctors trained to determine asbestos disease on x-rays are called “B” readers

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Lung Cancer

Abnormal growth of cells in the lung

Dose response relationship

Latency period is 20-30 years

Increased risk with smoking is 50-90 times

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Smoking and Asbestos

0102030405060708090

NoSmoking,No ACM

ACM, NoSmoking

Smoking,No ACM

Smoking,ACM

Person

Synergistic Effect

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MesotheliomaCancer of the chest cavity lining (pleura) or in the lining of the abdominal cavity

No dose response relationship

Latency period 30-40 years

Rarest of the diseases

CDC estimates ~2,500 cases per year - less than 0.0008% of the U.S. population per year

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Questions?