Asbestosis is a chronic lung disease caused specifically by inhaling asbestos dust or fibers. Long-term exposure to asbestos fibers can lead to the scarring of lung tissue scarring. Asbestosis symptoms can be mild or severe, and usually don’t appear until many years after a worker’s exposure.
Asbestos was used in many industrial applications and many workers did not know when or where they were exposed. Employers, however, beginning in the 1950s had some idea of the dangers and still failed to provide safe workplaces.
The federal government began regulating the use of asbestos in the 1970s, though in thousands of cases, the damage was already done. Cases of mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer are still being diagnosed from the negligence of employers.
High levels of asbestos dust exposure over a long period of time can lead to fibers lodged within the alveoli (tiny sacs inside your lungs where oxygen is exchanged for carbon dioxide in your blood). Asbestos fibers irritate and scar lung tissue, causing secondary health issues.