Asbestos Information

What is asbestos and why was it used?

Why is asbestos considered dangerous?

Why is there a need for an asbestos register at my place of work?

I think I've been exposed to asbestos, am I at risk?

See also our asbestos testing and analysis page and our asbestos survey page.

Asbestos is a name given to a group of naturally occurring fibrous minerals. Geologists classify the parent rocks as being Amphibole or Serpentine and chemists classify them as silicates. Asbestos ore was extracted from the ground by both open cast and underground mining in much the same way as coal and other minerals are mined. Once the ore had been taken from the ground it was crushed to release the fibres and the fibres were then sized and packaged.

Asbestos has properties that made it very useful; it was being used in China at least three thousand years ago. It is widely known that asbestos doesn’t burn and can be woven so it has had applications such as fire blankets and flame proof clothing as well as in the oil burning lamps of the ancients.

It is also a very good thermal insulator making it useful in pipework and boiler insulation as well as in fireproofing on structural steelwork; the fibres are strong and bind well with cement and other building materials so it was used to reinforce textured coatings, cement products (such as corrugated cement sheets) and insulating boards. Resistance to chemical attack, ability to withstand relatively high temperatures and being an electrical and acoustic insulator has added to its usefulness.

As well as having these very useful properties asbestos was also cheap and so was widely used in a massive range of products. The peak use of asbestos in the UK was in the period 1950 – 1980 but its use continued in lesser amounts right up until 1999 when its use was effectively prohibited. Millions of tonnes of asbestos were imported into the UK and it was recently estimated that 10 million properties in the UK contain asbestos materials.

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Asbestos is a fibrous material. When asbestos containing materials are damaged microscopic fibres can be released into the air. These very small fibres can bypass the body’s natural defences and penetrate deep within the lung. Inhalation of asbestos fibres is associated with several asbestos related diseases:

Asbestosis. This term is sometimes wrongly used to describe all asbestos related diseases; it is in fact a specific condition. Asbestosis is scarring of the lung caused by inhaling high concentrations of asbestos over long periods of time; the scarring of the lung tissue reduces lung function. In the UK this disease is most commonly seen in people who have worked within asbestos manufacturing plants. As the use of asbestos materials has reduced (and was effectively banned in the UK in 1999) the prolonged high exposures necessary to cause the disease no longer occur in the UK.

Lung Cancer (Bronchial carcinoma). Inhalation of asbestos fibres can cause lung cancer. Cancers caused by asbestos are indistinguishable from lung cancers with other causes, such as smoking. The risk of developing the disease increases with the amount and duration of exposure and is greatly increased if the individual has both significant asbestos exposure and is a smoker, an effect known as synergism. The disease has a long latency period occurring many years after exposure.

Mesothelioma. This is a cancer of the lining of the lung (plura) or the lining of the abdominal cavity (peritoneum). The disease is almost always associated with asbestos exposure. The onset of the cancer is typically 25 – 40 years from the time of the exposure, and the risk increases with time since exposure.

Plural thickening. This is the scarring of the lining of the lung (plura), it normally does not normally have any symptoms or affect lung function. It is detected by x ray.

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The number of people developing cancers associated with asbestos is increasing. Many of those developing cancer from asbestos exposure are people who worked in the building trades and it is thought that they would have been exposed to asbestos by disturbing asbestos containing materials during maintenance work in buildings containing asbestos.

The number of deaths in the UK from cancers caused by asbestos is expected to continue to rise to a peak of 5,000 – 10,000 per year between 2010 and 2025. To prevent exposure of more people to asbestos fibres generated during maintenance work the requirement to identify and manage asbestos in non-domestic premises was introduced in 2002. Further details are presented on the asbestos survey page of this website.

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The chance of developing an asbestos related disease is determined by the amount of fibre inhaled and the duration of exposure.

Research suggests that single or low level exposures are very unlikely to lead to disease and the risks with such an exposure are considered insignificant. If you think you may have been exposed, you may wish to discuss your concerns with your doctor. At this stage a full medical examination or x-ray would not be beneficial since it takes many years for the effects of asbestos to appear.

People who have significant exposure to asbestos at work are subject to regular medical examination.

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