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How Much Asbestos is too Much?

In the early days of asbestos use and before its potential health hazards were fully understood, the airborne dust concentrations went uncontrolled and fibre levels in excess of 100 parts per ml were not unusual. It was continual exposure to these excessive levels that lead to the discovery that the inhalation of asbestos produces pulmonary fibrosis, bronchial carcinoma and mesothelioma. Efforts to reduce the concentration of asbestos fibres in materials began in the 1930s and in the 1950s increasingly stringent safeguards covering the acceptable levels of asbestos in the air were imposed by law. Indeed, some countries went so far as to ban the use of asbestos altogether.

Today, asbestos can only be used under strict control and usually at levels of 1fibre per ml or less. Exposure levels in our general environment where asbestos is used such as buildings, is even less. Experiments conducted by the Institute of Occupational Medicine in Edinburgh have found that the conditions caused by exposure to asbestos are not solely dependent on the levels of dust in the air, but also on the length and durability of the fibres involved. The dust samples that produced the most mesothelioma in rats were composed of the highest number of long and thin fibres. However, the tests also confirmed that the duration of the exposure could also have a profound effect in the causation of conditions.

The experiments have been progressively refined and it now seems that the most dangerous fibres are those with a length greater than 8μm and a diameter greater than 0.25μm. However, in experiments surrounding long term exposure to asbestos, the results were even more surprising. The significance of fibre length and diameter became less important over greater periods of exposure, resulting in illnesses caused by fibres of smaller measurements than previously studied.

A long term problem

The report also researched mortality levels on those who worked with asbestos in past decades. The data suggested that, until the 1950s, the mortality rate from exposure to asbestos was between one and two million per year. During the past 20-30 years, the mortality rate of people with conditions contracted from working with asbestos has risen. Although the numbers of people working with asbestos are fewer, the mortality rate, when averaged out over the last three decades, has increased, possibly as a result of diseases lying dormant for some time.

Ultimately, the conclusion of these experiments was that “we cannot say, and it may be impossible to prove or disprove that at very low levels of exposure to asbestos, the risk of cancer is zero.” However, the report also goes on to recommend that further tests are undertaken to test the linearity of risk in relation to intensity of exposure.

The law is one of those sitting up and taking notice, as mesothelioma becomes newsworthy and the risks of even slight exposure to asbestos become known. Thanks to a better understanding of the effects of asbestos on the human body, even at low levels, those who are looking to launch a compensation claim for illnesses caused by exposure are finding a more willing audience and a greater degree of sympathy from the courts. Many payments have, unfortunately, had to be made posthumously. While the debate goes on, there are people working with asbestos in the country every day, unaware that they may be being exposed to threatening levels of this man made substance. The answer to the question how much asbestos is too much has to be any exposure, and those who work with asbestos must be made aware of the risks before exposing themselves to its dangers.

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