PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

 ASBESTOS CAS#: 1332-21-4 

Division of Toxicology September 2001 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 

This Public Health Statement is the summary 

chapter from the Toxicological Profile for Asbestos. 

It is one in a series of Public Health Statements 

about hazardous substances and their health effects. 

A shorter version, the ToxFAQsTM is also available. 

This information is important because this 

substance may harm you. The effects of exposure to 

any hazardous substance depend on the dose, the 

duration, how you are exposed, personal traits and 

habits, and whether other chemicals are present. For 

more information, call the ATSDR Information 

Center at 1-888-422-8737. 

_____________________________________ 

This public health statement tells you about 

asbestos and the effects of exposure. The 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identifies 

the most serious hazardous waste sites in the nation. 

These sites make up the National Priorities List 

(NPL) and are the sites targeted for long-term 

federal cleanup activities. Asbestos has been found 

in at least 83 of the 1,585 current or former NPL 

sites. However, the total number of NPL sites 

evaluated for this substance is not known. As more 

sites are evaluated, the sites at which asbestos is 

found may increase. This information is important 

because exposure to this substance may harm you 

and because these sites may be sources of exposure. 

When a substance is released from a large area, 

such as an industrial plant, or from a container, such 

as a drum or bottle, it enters the environment. This 

release does not always lead to exposure. You are 

exposed to a substance only when you come in 

contact with it. You may be exposed by breathing, 

eating, or drinking the substance, or by skin contact. 

If you are exposed to asbestos, many factors 

determine whether you’ll be harmed. These factors 

include the dose (how much), the duration (how 

long), the fiber type (mineral form and size 

distribution), and how you come in contact with it. 

You must also consider the other chemicals you’re 

exposed to and your age, sex, diet, family traits, 

lifestyle (including whether you smoke tobacco), 

and state of health. 

 

1.1 WHAT IS ASBESTOS? 

Asbestos is the name given to a group of six 

different fibrous minerals (amosite, chrysotile, 

crocidolite, and the fibrous varieties of tremolite, 

actinolite, and anthophyllite) that occur naturally in 

the environment. One of these, namely chrysotile, 

belongs to the serpentine family of minerals, while 

all of the others belong to the amphibole family. All 

forms of asbestos are hazardous, and all can cause 

cancer, but amphibole forms of asbestos are 

considered to be somewhat more hazardous to 

health than chrysotile. Asbestos minerals consist of 

thin, separable fibers that have a parallel 

arrangement. Nonfibrous forms of tremolite, 

actinolite, and anthophyllite also are found 

naturally. However, because they are not fibrous, 

they are not classified as asbestos minerals. 

Amphibole asbestos fibers are generally brittle and 

often have a rod- or needle-like shape, whereas 

chrysotile asbestos fibers are flexible and curved. 

Chrysotile, also known as white asbestos, is the 

predominant commercial form of asbestos; 

amphiboles are of minor commercial importance. 

Asbestos fibers do not have any detectable odor or 

taste. They do not dissolve in water or evaporate 

and are resistant to heat, fire, chemical and 

biological degradation. Because of these properties, 

asbestos has been mined for use in a wide range of 

manufactured products, mostly in building 

materials, friction products, and heat-resistant 
 PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

 ASBESTOS CAS#: 1332-21-4 

Division of Toxicology September 2001 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 

fabrics. Since asbestos fibers may cause harmful 

health effects in people who are exposed, all new 

uses of asbestos have been banned in the United 

States by the EPA. Please see the toxicological 

profile for more information on the properties and 

uses of asbestos. 

 

1.2 WHAT HAPPENS TO ASBESTOS WHEN 

IT ENTERS THE ENVIRONMENT? 

Asbestos fibers do not evaporate into air or dissolve 

in water. However, pieces of fibers can enter the air 

and water from the weathering of natural deposits 

and the wearing down of manufactured asbestos 

products. Small diameter fibers and fiber-containing 

particles may remain suspended in the air for a long 

time and be carried long distances by wind or water 

currents before settling. Larger diameter fibers and 

particles tend to settle more quickly. Asbestos fibers 

are not able to move through soil. They are 

generally not broken down to other compounds in 

the environment and will remain virtually 

unchanged over long periods. However, the most 

common form of asbestos, chrysotile, may have 

some minor mineral loss in acidic environments. 

Asbestos fibers may break into shorter pieces or 

separate into a larger number of individual fibers as 

a result of physical processes. When asbestos fibers 

are breathed in, they may get trapped in the lungs. 

Levels of fibers in lung tissue build up over time, 

but some fibers, particularly chrysotile fibers, can 

be removed from or degraded in the lung with time. 

Please see the toxicological profile for more 

information on the behavior of asbestos in the 

environment. 

1.3 HOW MIGHT I BE EXPOSED TO 

ASBESTOS? 

Asbestos minerals are widespread in the 

environment. They may occur in large natural 

deposits, or as contaminants in other minerals. For 

example, tremolite asbestos may occur in deposits 

of chrysotile, vermiculite, and talc. Asbestos may be 

found in soil that is formed from the erosion of 

asbestos-bearing rock. You are most likely to be 

exposed to asbestos by breathing in asbestos fibers 

that are suspended in air. These fibers can come 

from naturally occurring sources of asbestos or 

from the wearing down or disturbance of 

manufactured products including insulation, 

automotive brakes and clutches, ceiling and floor 

tiles, dry wall, roof shingles, and cement. However, 

these products do not always contain asbestos. Low 

levels of asbestos that present little, if any, risk to 

your health can be detected in almost any air 

sample. For example, 10 fibers are typically present 

in a cubic meter (fibers/m3) of outdoor air in rural 

areas. (A cubic meter is about the amount of air that 

you breathe in 1 hour.) Health professionals often 

report the number of fibers in a milliliter (mL) 

(equivalent to a cubic centimeter [cm3]) of air rather 

than in a cubic meter of air. Since there are one 

million cm3 (or one million mL) in a cubic meter, 

there typically would be 0.00001 fibers/mL of 

asbestos in air in rural areas. Typical levels found in 

cities are about 10-fold higher. 

Close to an asbestos mine or factory, levels may 

reach 10,000 fibers/m3 (0.01 fibers/mL) or higher. 

Levels could also be above average near a building 

that contains asbestos products and that is being 

torn down or renovated or near a waste site where 

asbestos is not properly covered up or stored to 

protect it from wind erosion. 
 PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

 ASBESTOS CAS#: 1332-21-4 

Division of Toxicology September 2001 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 

In indoor air, the concentration of asbestos depends 

on whether asbestos was used for insulation, ceiling 

or floor tiles, or other purposes, and whether these 

asbestos-containing materials are in good condition 

or are deteriorated and easily crumbled. 

Concentrations measured in homes, schools, and 

other buildings that contain asbestos range from 

about 30 to 6,000 fibers/m3 (0.00003–0.006 

fibers/mL). People who work with asbestos or 

asbestos-containing products (for example, miners, 

insulation workers, asbestos abatement workers, 

and automobile brake mechanics) without proper 

protection are likely to be exposed to much higher 

levels of asbestos fibers in air. In addition, custodial 

and maintenance workers who are making repairs or 

installations in buildings with asbestos-containing 

materials may be exposed to higher levels of 

asbestos. Since vermiculite and talc may contain 

asbestos, occupational workers and the general 

population may be exposed to asbestos when using 

these products. 

You can also be exposed to asbestos by drinking 

asbestos fibers that are present in water. Even 

though asbestos does not dissolve in water, fibers 

can enter water by being eroded from natural 

deposits or piles of waste asbestos, from asbestoscontaining cement pipes used to carry drinking 

water, or from filtering through asbestos-containing 

filters. Most drinking water supplies in the United 

States have concentrations of less than 1 million 

fibers per liter (MFL), even in areas with asbestos 

deposits or with asbestos-cement water supply 

pipes. However, in some locations, water samples 

may contain 10–300 million fibers per liter or even 

higher. The average person drinks about 2 liters of 

water per day. Please see the toxicological profile 

for more information on how you could be exposed 

to asbestos. 

1.4 HOW CAN ASBESTOS ENTER AND 

LEAVE MY BODY? 

If you breathe asbestos fibers into your lungs, some 

of the fibers will be deposited in the air passages 

and on the cells that make up your lungs. Most 

fibers are removed from your lungs by being carried 

away or coughed up in a layer of mucus to the 

throat, where they are swallowed into the stomach. 

This usually takes place within a few hours. Fibers 

that are deposited in the deepest parts of the lung 

are removed more slowly. In fact, some fibers may 

move through your lungs and can remain in place 

for many years and may never be removed from 

your body. Amphibole asbestos fibers are retained 

in the lung longer than chrysotile asbestos fibers. 

If you swallow asbestos fibers (either those present 

in water or those that are moved to your throat from 

your lungs), nearly all of the fibers pass along your 

intestines within a few days and are excreted in the 

feces. A small number of fibers may penetrate into 

cells that line your stomach or intestines, and a few 

penetrate all the way through and get into your 

blood. Some of these become trapped in other 

tissues, and some are removed in your urine. 

If you get asbestos fibers on your skin, very few of 

these fibers, if any, pass through the skin into your 

body. Please see the toxicological profile for more 

information on how asbestos enters and leaves your 

body. 
 PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

 ASBESTOS CAS#: 1332-21-4 

Division of Toxicology September 2001 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 

1.5 HOW CAN ASBESTOS AFFECT MY 

HEALTH? 

To protect the public from the harmful effects of 

toxic chemicals and to find ways to treat people 

who have been harmed, scientists use many tests. 

One way to see if a chemical will hurt people is to 

learn how the chemical is absorbed, used, and 

released by the body; for some chemicals, animal 

testing may be necessary. Animal testing may also 

be used to identify health effects such as cancer or 

birth defects. Without laboratory animals, scientists 

would lose a basic method to get information 

needed to make wise decisions to protect public 

health. Scientists have the responsibility to treat 

research animals with care and compassion. Laws 

today protect the welfare of research animals, and 

scientists must comply with strict animal care 

guidelines. 

Information on the health effects of asbestos in 

people comes mostly from studies of people who 

were exposed in the past to levels of asbestos fibers 

(greater than or equal to 5 μm in length) in 

workplace air that were as high as 5 million 

fibers/m3 (5 fibers/mL). Workers who repeatedly 

breathe in asbestos fibers with lengths greater than 

or equal to 5 μm may develop a slow buildup of 

scar-like tissue in the lungs and in the membrane 

that surrounds the lungs. This scar-like tissue does 

not expand and contract like normal lung tissue and 

so breathing becomes difficult. Blood flow to the 

lung may also be decreased, and this causes the 

heart to enlarge. This disease is called asbestosis. 

People with asbestosis have shortness of breath, 

often accompanied by a cough. This is a serious 

disease and can eventually lead to disability or 

death in people exposed to high amounts of asbestos 

over a long period. However, asbestosis is not 

usually of concern to people exposed to low levels 

of asbestos. Changes in the membrane surrounding 

the lung, called pleural plaques, are quite common 

in people occupationally exposed to asbestos and 

are sometimes found in people living in areas with 

high environmental levels of asbestos. 

Effects on breathing from pleural plaques alone are 

usually not serious. There is conflicting evidence as 

to whether their presence in a person accurately 

predicts more serious disease development in the 

future. 

Asbestos workers have increased chances of getting 

two principal types of cancer: cancer of the lung 

tissue itself and mesothelioma, a cancer of the thin 

membrane that surrounds the lung and other internal 

organs. These diseases do not develop immediately 

following exposure to asbestos, but appear only 

after a number of years. There is also some 

evidence from studies of workers that breathing 

asbestos can increase the chances of getting cancer 

in other locations (for example, the stomach, 

intestines, esophagus, pancreas, and kidneys), but 

this is less certain. Members of the public who are 

exposed to lower levels of asbestos may also have 

increased chances of getting cancer, but the risks 

are usually small and are difficult to measure 

directly. Lung cancer is usually fatal, while 

mesothelioma is almost always fatal, often within a 

few months of diagnosis. Some scientists believe 

that early identification and intervention of 

mesothelioma may increase survival. 

The levels of asbestos in air that lead to lung disease 

depend on several factors. The most important of 

these are (1) how long you were exposed, (2) how 

long it has been since your exposure started, and (3) 

whether you smoked cigarettes. Cigarette smoking 
 PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

 ASBESTOS CAS#: 1332-21-4 

Division of Toxicology September 2001 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 

and asbestos exposure increase your chances of 

getting lung cancer. Also, there is a scientific debate 

concerning the differences in the extent of disease 

caused by different fiber types and sizes. Some of 

these differences may be due to the physical and 

chemical properties of the different fiber types. For 

example, several studies suggest that amphibole 

asbestos types (tremolite, amosite, and especially 

crocidolite) may be more harmful than chrysotile, 

particularly for mesothelioma. Other data indicate 

that fiber size dimensions (length and diameter) are 

important factors for cancer-causing potential. 

Some data indicate that fibers with lengths greater 

than 5.0 μm are more likely to cause injury than 

fibers with lengths less than 2.5 μm. (1 μm is about 

1/25,000 of an inch.) Additional data indicate that 

short fibers can contribute to injury. This appears to 

be true for mesothelioma, lung cancer, and 

asbestosis. However, fibers thicker than 3.0 μm are 

of lesser concern, because they have little chance of 

penetrating to the lower regions of the lung. 

The health effects from swallowing asbestos are 

unclear. Some groups of people who have been 

exposed to asbestos fibers in their drinking water 

have higher-than-average death rates from cancer of 

the esophagus, stomach, and intestines. However, it 

is very difficult to tell whether this is caused by 

asbestos or by something else. Animals that were 

given very high doses of asbestos in food did not 

get more fatal cancers than usual, although some 

extra nonfatal tumors did occur in the intestines of 

rats in one study. 

Several government offices and regulatory agencies 

have considered all of the evidence regarding the 

carcinogenicity of asbestos. The Department of 

Health and Human Services (DHHS) has 

determined that asbestos is known to be a human 

carcinogen. The EPA has determined that asbestos 

is a human carcinogen. The International Agency 

for Research on Cancer (IARC) has determined that 

asbestos is carcinogenic to humans. Please see the 

toxicological profile for more information on how 

asbestos can affect your health. 

 

1.6 HOW CAN ASBESTOS AFFECT 

CHILDREN? 

This section discusses potential health effects from 

exposures during the period from conception to 

maturity at 18 years of age in humans. 

Asbestos exposure in both children and adults may 

occur while breathing air in or near buildings 

(public or private) containing asbestos building 

materials or near asbestos-related industrial 

operations. Children breathe differently and have 

different lung structures than adults. It is not known 

if these differences may cause a greater amount of 

asbestos fibers to stay in the lungs of a child when 

they are breathed in than in the lungs of an adult. 

Children drink more fluids per kilogram of body 

weight than adults and can also be exposed through 

asbestos-contaminated drinking water. Eating 

asbestos-contaminated soil and dust is another 

source of exposure for children. Certain children 

intentionally eat soil, and all young children eat 

more soil than adults through hand-to-mouth 

activities. Historically, family members have also 

been exposed to asbestos that was carried home on 

the clothing of other family members who worked 

in asbestos mines or mills. Breathing of asbestos 

fibers may result in difficulty in breathing, lung 

cancer, or mesothelioma (another form of cancer 

associated with asbestos exposure). These diseases 

usually appear many years following the first 

exposure to asbestos and are therefore not likely to 
 PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

 ASBESTOS CAS#: 1332-21-4 

Division of Toxicology September 2001 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 

be seen in children. But since it may take up to 40 

or more years for the effects of exposure to be seen, 

people who have been exposed to asbestos at a 

young age may be more likely to contract these 

diseases than those who are first exposed later in 

life. In the small number of studies that have 

specifically looked at asbestos exposure in children, 

there is no indication that younger people might 

develop asbestos-related diseases more quickly than 

older people. Developing fetuses and infants are not 

likely to be exposed to asbestos through the 

placenta or breast milk of the mother. Results of 

animal studies do not indicate that exposure to 

asbestos is likely to result in birth defects. 

 

1.7 HOW CAN FAMILIES REDUCE THE 

RISK OF EXPOSURE TO ASBESTOS? 

If your doctor finds that you have been exposed to 

significant amounts of asbestos, ask whether your 

children might also be exposed. Your doctor might 

need to ask your state health department to 

investigate. 

The most important way that families can lower 

their exposures to asbestos is to be aware of the 

sources of asbestos in their homes and avoid 

exposure to these sources. The most important 

source of asbestos in a home is from damaged or 

deteriorating asbestos-containing insulation, ceiling, 

or floor tiles. Should you suspect that your house 

may contain asbestos, contact your state or local 

health department or the regional offices of EPA to 

find out how to test your home for asbestos and how 

to locate a company that is trained to remove or 

contain the fibers. Federal law requires schools to 

identify asbestos-containing material in school 

buildings and take appropriate action to control 

release of asbestos fibers. 

If you live close to where asbestos and certain other 

ores are mined or processed, where a building that 

contains asbestos products is being torn down or 

renovated, or a waste site where asbestos is not 

properly covered, then the levels of asbestos in dust 

and wind-blown soil may be higher. Pets can also 

bring asbestos into the home by carrying dust or dirt 

on their fur or feet if they spend time in places that 

have high levels of asbestos in the soil. Swallowing 

of asbestos in house dust or soil is a potential 

exposure pathway for children. This problem can be 

reduced in many ways. Regular hand and face 

washing to remove asbestos-containing dusts and 

soil, especially before meals, can lower the 

possibility of asbestos fibers on the skin being 

accidentally swallowed while eating. Families can 

lower exposures to asbestos by regularly cleaning 

the home of dust and tracked in soil. Door mats can 

help lower the amount of soil that is tracked into the 

home; removing your shoes before entering will 

also help. Planting grass and shrubs over bare soil 

areas in the yard can lower the contact that children 

and pets may have with soil and reduce the tracking 

of soil into the home. 

You can bring asbestos home in the dust on your 

hands or clothes if you work in the mining or 

processing of minerals that contain asbestos, in 

asbestos removal, or in buildings with damaged or 

deteriorating asbestos. Federal law regulates work 

practices to limit the possibility of asbestos being 

brought home in this way. Your occupational health 

and safety officer at work can and should tell you 

whether chemicals you work with are dangerous 

and likely to be carried home on your clothes, body, 

or tools, and whether you should be showering and 

changing clothes before you leave work, storing 

your street clothes in a separate area of the 

workplace, or laundering your work clothes at home 
 PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

 ASBESTOS CAS#: 1332-21-4 

Division of Toxicology September 2001 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 

separately from other clothes. Your employer 

should have Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) 

for many of the chemicals used at your place of 

work, as required by the Occupational Safety and 

Health Administration (OSHA). Information on 

these sheets should include chemical names and 

hazardous ingredients, important properties (such as 

fire and explosion data), potential health effects, 

how you get the chemical(s) in your body, how to 

handle the materials properly, and what to do in an 

emergency. Your employer is legally responsible 

for providing a safe workplace and should freely 

answer your questions about hazardous chemicals. 

Either OSHA or your OSHA-approved state 

occupational safety and health program can answer 

any further questions and help your employer 

identify and correct problems with hazardous 

substances. OSHA and/or your OSHA-approved 

state occupational safety and health program will 

listen to your formal complaints about workplace 

health hazards and inspect your workplace when 

necessary. Employees have a right to seek safety 

and health on the job without fear of punishment. 

 

1.8 IS THERE A MEDICAL TEST TO 

DETERMINE WHETHER I HAVE BEEN 

EXPOSED TO ASBESTOS? 

The most common test used to determine if you 

have received sustained exposure to asbestos is a 

chest x-ray. A chest x-ray is recommended for 

detecting exposure to asbestos only in persons who 

have sustained relatively heavy exposure. A chest xray is of no value for detecting evidence of asbestos 

exposure in a person whose exposure to asbestos 

has been only brief or transient. The x-ray cannot 

detect the asbestos fibers themselves, but it can 

detect early signs of lung disease caused by 

asbestos. While other substances besides asbestos 

can sometimes produce similar changes in the 

lungs, this test is usually reliable for detecting 

asbestos-related effects produced by long-term 

exposures at relatively high concentrations of 

asbestos fibers. Other tests, such as gallium-67 lung 

scanning and high-resolution computed 

tomography, are also useful in detecting changes in 

the lungs. However, there are currently no means of 

detecting exposure-related effects from commonly 

encountered environmental exposures. 

The most reliable test to determine if you have been 

exposed to asbestos is the detection of microscopic 

asbestos fibers in pieces of lung tissue removed by 

surgery, but this is a very invasive test. A test can 

also be run to determine the presence of asbestos 

fibers in material rinsed out of the lung. However, 

this test can cause some discomfort. Asbestos fibers 

can also be detected in mucus (sputum), urine, or 

feces, but these tests are not reliable for determining 

how much asbestos may be in your lungs. Low 

levels of asbestos fibers are found in these materials 

for nearly all people. Higher-than-average levels 

can show that you have been exposed to asbestos, 

but it is not yet possible to use the results of this test 

to estimate how much asbestos you have been 

exposed to, or to predict whether you are likely to 

suffer any health effects. Please see the 

toxicological profile for more information about 

how asbestos can be measured in people and in the 

environment. 

 

1.9 WHAT RECOMMENDATIONS HAS THE 

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MADE TO 

PROTECT HUMAN HEALTH? 

The federal government develops regulations and 

recommendations to protect public health. 

Regulations can be enforced by law. Federal 
 PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

 ASBESTOS CAS#: 1332-21-4 

Division of Toxicology September 2001 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 

agencies that develop regulations for toxic 

substances include the Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA), the Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration (OSHA), and the Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA). Recommendations provide 

valuable guidelines to protect public health but 

cannot be enforced by law. Federal organizations 

that develop recommendations for toxic substances 

include the Agency for Toxic Substances and 

Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the National 

Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 

(NIOSH). 

Regulations and recommendations can be expressed 

in not-to-exceed levels in air, water, soil, or food 

that are usually based on levels that affect animals; 

then they are adjusted to help protect people. 

Sometimes these not-to-exceed levels differ among 

federal organizations because of different exposure 

times (an 8-hour workday or a 24-hour day), the use 

of different animal studies, or other factors. 

Recommendations and regulations are also 

periodically updated as more information becomes 

available. For the most current information, check 

with the federal agency or organization that 

provides it. Some regulations and recommendations 

for asbestos include the following: 

The federal government has taken a number of steps 

to protect citizens from exposure to asbestos. First, 

on July 12, 1989, EPA established a ban on new 

uses of asbestos. Uses established before this date 

are still allowable. Second, EPA has established 

regulations that require school systems to inspect 

for asbestos and, if damaged asbestos is found, to 

eliminate or reduce the exposure, either by 

removing the asbestos or by covering it up so it 

cannot get into the air. In addition, EPA provides 

guidance and support for reducing asbestos 

exposure in other public buildings. Third, EPA 

regulates the release of asbestos from factories and 

during building demolition or renovation to prevent 

asbestos from getting into the environment. EPA 

also regulates the disposal of waste asbestos 

materials or products, requiring these to be placed 

only in approved locations. Fourth, EPA has 

proposed a limit of 7 million fibers per liter on the 

concentration of long fibers (length greater than or 

equal to 5 μm) that may be present in drinking 

water. Fifth, FDA regulates the use of asbestos in 

the preparation of drugs and restricts the use of 

asbestos in food-packaging materials. NIOSH has 

recommended that inhalation exposures not exceed 

100,000 fibers with lengths greater than or equal to 

5 μm per m3 of air (0.1 fibers/mL). OSHA has 

established an enforceable limit on the average 8-

hour daily concentration of asbestos allowed in air 

in the workplace to be 100,000 fibers with lengths 

greater than or equal to 5 μm per m3 of air (0.1 

fibers/mL). Additional sources of information about 

asbestos are the 10 regional offices of the EPA. 

Most EPA regional offices have an asbestos 

coordinator. 

Please see the toxicological profile for more 

information about regulations and guidelines to 

protect people from exposure to asbestos. 

 
 PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

 ASBESTOS CAS#: 1332-21-4 

Division of Toxicology September 2001 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 

1.10 WHERE CAN I GET MORE 

INFORMATION? 

If you have any more questions or concerns, 

please contact your community or state health or 

environmental quality department or: 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

Division of Toxicology 

1600 Clifton Road NE, Mailstop F-32 

Atlanta, GA 30333 

Information line and technical assistance: 

Phone: 888-422-8737 

FAX: (770)-488-4178 

ATSDR can also tell you the location of 

occupational and environmental health clinics. 

These clinics specialize in recognizing, evaluating, 

and treating illnesses resulting from exposure to 

hazardous substances. 

To order toxicological profiles, contact: 

National Technical Information Service 

5285 Port Royal Road 

Springfield, VA 22161 

Phone: 800-553-6847 or 703-605-6000 

Reference 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

(ATSDR). 2001. Toxicological Profile for Asbestos. 

Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services, Public Health Service.