Because asbestos is made up of fibers, these can quickly get into the air, where a person may inhale them. These fibers then land in tissues like the mesothelium and become trapped there. With repeated exposure, the fibers may build up, leading to scarring (asbestosis), DNA damage, and inflammation. These issues often lead to cancer, even twenty or thirty years after exposure.
Asbestos exposure has what is called a “latency period.” It doesn’t usually cause cancer quickly, but the fibers stay in the bodily tissues, causing inflammation. Often cancer develops twenty or more years after the first exposure. Cancer risk is dose-dependent, so someone exposed to the mineral briefly during their home renovation twenty years ago is less at risk than someone who has spent years around asbestos at work.
In the past, many people suffered secondhand asbestos exposure if a spouse or parent worked with the mineral. For example, people who worked in construction might come home with asbestos fibers all over their clothes. If they hugged their spouse or children, they could have transferred those fibers to their family members.