# Presentation: 118335

## Asbestos Information for Community Members

***Asbestos Information for Community Members***

**	**

## Introduction 

**What is asbestos?**
**What are past and present uses of asbestos?**
**Why is asbestos a health concern?**
**What are some asbestos-associated diseases?**
**What should you do if you have been exposed to asbestos?**

## What is asbestos?

**Naturally occurring mineral**
**Made up of long, thin fibers**
**Fibers are heat resistant, strong, flexible and very stable**
**Used widely in industry from the early 1900s to the 1970s**

## What is asbestos? Continued

**Loose or crumbling asbestos can release fibers into air**
**Can breathe in tiny asbestos fibers without knowing it**
**Some fibers breathed in can become lodged in lungs and may cause lung disease**
**Symptoms of asbestos-related diseases may appear many years after exposure**
**Not everyone exposed to asbestos develops health problems**** **

## Past Exposure in the Workplace

**Used in many industries in the United States before the 1970s**
**Used in pipe and insulation coverings, boilers, industrial furnaces, and brake pads**
**Workers who made asbestos-containing products at greatest risk of exposure during this time**
**Workers carried asbestos dust home on skin and clothes**

## Past Exposure in the Workplace. Continued

**Asbestos still in some materials today**
**Mined natural vermiculite mineral was contaminated with tremolite asbestos.  **
**Contaminated natural vermiculite was sold in attic insulation and potting soil**
**People who handled contaminated vermiculite in manufacturing plants throughout country were exposed**

## Current Exposure in the Workplace

**During repair, renovation, removal, and maintenance of old asbestos-containing products such as automobile, buildings, homes**
**Occupations that involve contact with old asbestos materials:**

| Carpenters
Construction worker
Utility workers
Electricians
Pipe fitters, Plumbers
Steel mill workers | Boilers makers, Shipyard                      workers
Mechanics working with brake and transmission products |
| --- | --- |

## Current Exposure in the Workplace.  Continued

**Workers may disturb asbestos in old, phased-out products, such as insulation or pipe coverings**
**Only disturbed, broken asbestos-containing materials release asbestos fibers**
**Follow the appropriate safety procedures when handling asbestos in the workplace**

## Exposure at Home

**Exposure:**
**Occurs in attics with asbestos-containing insulation, pipes and boilers with asbestos covers, during home repairs.**
**What to do:**
**Proper handling of asbestos is very important**
**Seek professional assistance**
**Contact your local health department for a listing of trained and certified asbestos contractors**

## Naturally occurring asbestos

**Asbestos is mainly found in underground rocks**
**Asbestos fibers can be released if rocks are disturbed by human activities:**
**Mining (no longer occurs in the United States)**
**Construction (if rocks with naturally occurring asbestos is close to the surface)**

## Risk of Illness

**Risk depends three factors: **
**      ****1.number of fibers breathed in, **
**      ****2. how long you were exposed, **
**      ****3. number of times you were exposed**
**Risk continues after exposure has stopped**
**Symptoms usually begin 15–40 years after first exposure**
**Not everyone who is exposed to asbestos will get sick**

## Asbestos-Associated Diseases – Parenchymal Asbestosis

| Disease | Description | Typical Symptoms |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Parenchymal asbestosis | A chronic lung disease caused by the scarring or thickening of lung tissue | Breathlessness that gets increasingly worse

Sometimes: Cough and chest tightness or pain |

## Asbestos-Associated Diseases – Asbestos-Related Plural Abnormalities

| Disease | Description | Typical Symptoms |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Asbestos-related plural abnormalities | Occurs when asbestos fibers reach the lining of the lungs, called the pleura. | Presence of asbestos fibers can cause various reactions in the lung linings, many which are pretty mild.   |

## Asbestos-Associated Diseases – Lung Cancer

| Disease | Description | Typical Symptoms |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Lung cancer | The same type of cancer caused by smoking and other factors | None (until late stage)
Sometimes: Cough, wheezing, and difficulty breathing |

## Asbestos-Associated Diseases - Mesothelioma

| Disease | Description | Typical Symptoms |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mesothelioma
 | A type of cancer that affects the lining of the lungs or the lining of the abdomen | None (until late stage) 
Sometimes: Cough, chest pain, and difficulty breathing |

## What To Do If You Have Been Exposed To Asbestos

**Stop exposure**
**Contact your doctor about receiving:**
**	****	****- Chest X-ray**
**	****	****- Pulmonary function tests**
**	****	****- Annual flu shots and a pneumococcal ****	****  vaccine**
**Quit smoking**

## Summary

**Asbestos is a mineral that was widely used in industry until the 1970s**
**When disturbed, asbestos fibers are released into the air and you can breathe them in**
**Asbestos can cause parenchymal asbestosis, asbestos-related pleural abnormalities, lung cancer, and mesothelioma**
**If you are being exposed to asbestos, stop exposure immediately and contact your doctor**

## For More Information on Asbestos

**Contact CDC-INFO**
**    ****- 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636)**
**   **** ****- TTY 888-232-6348  (24 hours/day)**
**    ****- E-mail: cdcinfo@cdc.gov**
**    ****- Web addresses: **
**      ****http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/asbestos/index.html **
**       ****http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/contactus.html**