Asbestos is a carcinogen thus inhaling asbestos fibers can lead to many extremely dangerous health problems most common of which are Asbestosis, Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma. Asbestosis is not a cancer however it causes inflammation and irritation in the lungs. It often has no symptoms thus an x-ray is the only way it can be detected. Diseases from asbestos contact take a long time to formulate. Employees of asbestos industry who smoke have a higher risk of Lung Cancer than those who do not smoke. Usually when asbestos fibers are inhaled they are expelled but there are some fibers which can settle in the lungs and remain there for an employee’s entire lifetime. It usually takes about 15 years or more for a person to develop Asbestosis. Even if the asbestos exposure is stopped the health effects may still continue. In the past asbestos exposure was only in occupational settings where asbestos was used in different products and applications. However now asbestos exposure is relevant in other setting too such as schools, homes etc.
Asbestos Fiber Types
The United States Environmental Protection Agency states about six minerals which can be classified as ‘asbestos’ counting those under Serpentile class chrysotile and those under the Amphibole class amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophylite and actinolite. The disparity between the two asbestos can be seen by the differences in their chemical composition and their level of influence, when inhaled as a health hazard. Three common asbestos types are White (Chrysotile) asbestos, Brown (Amosite) asbestos, and Blue/Chrocidolite (Riebeckite) asbestos. Chrysotile comes under the Serpentile class whereas the brown and the blue asbestos come under the Amphibole class.
Asbestos Fiber Analysis and Counting
Asbestos is basically made up of fiber bundles which can be easily broken down into thin, long fibers. The three most commonly occurring types of asbestos are Chrysotile, Amosite and Crocidolite. Chrysotile is known as white asbestos. It is a curly fiber and is the most common type of asbestos(found in about 90% cases) in asbestos products, It belongs to the serpentine group and is a magnesium silicate. Amosite is a brown/gray straight fiber containing iron and magnesium and belongs to the amphibole group. Crocidolite also belongs to the amphibole group. It is a straight blue fiber made of sodium iron magnesium silicate. The amphibole group also consists of other asbestos types namely anthophyllite, tremolite, and actinolite.
The PCM technique is a low cost technique which doesn’t take too much time.This light microscope technique operates at 400x magnification and although it’s not able to differentiate the asbestos fibers from the other types present in the sample, it helps in giving an overall reading nonetheless which gives an indication of the asbestos levels present. The most sophisticated technology available, however, is called Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The PLM procedure is an economical technique which helps not only in distinguishing the asbestos fibers from the other fibers but also classifies them into different asbestos fiber mineral families. Though PLM is generally used due to its economical characteristic, the in-house TEM technique can also be utilized.