Only people who are exposed to asbestos get these diseases. Asbestos also increases your risk of lung cancer and other types of cancer. The health risk is increased by smoking. Asbestos products can release fibers into the air when they are in poor condition, when they are cut, or when nearby work disturbs them. Asbestos products are called friable when you can crush them with finger and hand pressure alone.
Friable materials are more likely to release fibers into the air.
Sometimes we run into asbestos on a job unexpectedly. Asbestos exposure is most likely when renovating or demolishing older structures. To find out if a material contains asbestos, the company can send samples to a lab for testing. You can't identify asbestos just by looking at it. If necessary, the company can also bring in a qualified professional to measure the asbestos dust level in the air with instruments.