The Long-Term Health Implications of Asbestos Exposure

The Long-Term Health Implications of Asbestos Exposure

It is crucial to understand asbestos exposure with respect to time. While there are many immediate considerations to keep in mind in the here and now, asbestos exposure carries significant health concerns in the long run. In other words, there are both short-term and especially long-term health implications of asbestos exposure that you should know bout. Understanding how these relate can sound difficult, but there are some simple things to keep in mind that can either keep you safe or help you know what kind of treatment and compensation action you need to take. 

Understanding the Importance of Asbestos Exposure and Latency

The long-term effects of asbestos exposure can happen with as little as a single instance of exposure, even in small amounts. But what actually happens in the case of asbestos exposure? 

One study summarizes the event as follows:

“The toxicity of a mineral fiber is related not only to the chemical composition of the mineral but also to its surface reactivity, crystallinity, and the presence of transition metals. The size and shape of the fibers are also important since they affect whether the inhaled fibers penetrate the alveolar space through the airways. The stability of the fibers in the lungs can greatly affect their toxicity since ones that reach the alveolar space may be degraded or removed by macrophages for detoxification.” [1]

Asbestos is an umbrella term used to describe a group of silicate minerals found naturally throughout the world. 

However, when asbestos is processed and manufactured, the tiny mineral fibers are used for strength-building purposes in hundreds of different applications in construction and especially fire-proofing. In many cases, undisturbed and undamaged asbestos products can be harmless, but the danger occurs when the fibers are exposed and released into the air. Once airborne, asbestos fibers make their way into our bodies- either by breathing them in or by swallowing them. Once inside our bodies, asbestos can cause damage and result in life-threatening diseases including various types of cancer. 

However, this outcome is hardly instantaneous. While we can easily swallow or breathe in asbestos without notice, due to its lack of taste or smell, we don’t often experience the long-term component of exposure. This is the late component of asbestos exposure, otherwise known as latency. 

When Latency Shows Itself in the Form of Disease

To put it another way, the effects of asbestos exposure are quite often delayed for a number of years. Earlier research concluded that asbestos exposure may result in a variety of diseases around 20 years after the time of exposure, but more recent studies have shown that asbestos latency (from exposure to disease) can take as much as 50 years for symptoms to show, and even longer in some cases. 

The reason for this is not limited to ongoing instances of exposure. The American Lung Association notes that there is a risk that once inhaled, some asbestos fibers will never leave the body.[2] This means that only one instance of asbestos exposure if fibers have made their way into the body, can be enough to cause life-threatening damage over time.

So what is happening in our bodies during these years and even decades of latency? 

According to studies, when free radicals oxidize important components of the cell, those components lose their ability to function normally, and the accumulation of such damage may cause the cell to die. Numerous studies indicate that increased production of free radicals causes or accelerates nerve cell injury and leads to disease. [3]

Exposure, in whatever form it comes in, can include common household products and construction materials found in most homes built during or before the 1980s. Some of these include:

• Roofing tar
• Cement Boards
• Loose Insulation
• Flooring Underlayment
• Paint applications

It’s important to note that asbestos can come in the form of solids, liquids, and gases, just as it does in the examples given. This means that there isn’t just one form of asbestos to look out for or be aware of. All forms of asbestos are carcinogenic to humans.” [4] Any of these examples contain the same microscopic fibers that can have the same impact on our bodies, so long as they make their way into our bodies.

More to Consider With Latency

One thing to know about latency is that symptoms are often non-existent during the years that asbestos lays dormant as a silent threat. It is uncommon for people to experience symptoms right away, just as it is uncommon for people to experience small symptoms that slowly progress over time. Instead, our bodies continue to function, seemingly as normal, until the latency clock runs out, so to speak. Symptoms come on with a vengeance, and this is especially true for more aggressive forms of cancer due to asbestos exposure, such as mesothelioma. While mesothelioma is one of the most commonly known forms of asbestos-related disease, it is estimated that asbestos exposure causes six times more lung cancer than malignant mesothelioma, and mesothelioma deaths are estimated to be 38,400 per year worldwide. [5]

Short-Term Acute Exposure

That is not to say, however, that all examples of asbestos exposure are limited to significant latency. For example, the first asbestos lawsuit involved Nellie Kershaw in England, who was exposed to high levels of asbestos fibers and, unfortunately, died from asbestosis at the age of 33 before her court case was concluded. Kershaw’s own experience of significant exposure is not something people should expect to encounter anymore, particularly in light of the regulations that exist today, but anyone involved in industrial or manufacturing work before the regulations came into effect in the 1980s may be at risk.

Secondhand Exposure and Latency

It’s not always easy to pinpoint exposure risks, especially when they happen in unsuspecting ways. Unfortunately, many examples of asbestos cases relate to people who had no idea that they were exposed. This not only includes people unaware of asbestos work environments but also spouses and children of workers. Secondhand asbestos exposure is notoriously connected to family members, primarily because workers unknowingly carried asbestos fibers into their homes in their clothing or tools. 

So many people who work with asbestos carry fibers home with them. The fibers embed in upholstery, carpet, and other surfaces, in homes and cars, where others were exposed. This is called secondary asbestos exposure. It is also known as: 

• ambient exposure
• household asbestos exposure 
• take-home exposure
• domestic asbestos exposure. [6]

Since asbestos exposure makes no distinction on how someone is exposed, only that they are exposed, even women and children are at risk of the same variety of illnesses and diseases, including mesothelioma.

Moving Forward With Testing and Compensation

Because of these crucial components related to work history, family history, and more, testing at the first sign of symptoms is a crucial first step to take. But for anyone who has been tested for exposure and has been diagnosed with a disease, how to respond in a timely manner is vitally important. While latency may result in a delay in symptoms, the onset and downgrade of a person’s health after symptoms begin to take place will happen very quickly, especially in the case of mesothelioma

Getting Compensation Quickly

There are numerous compensation options available for those exposed to asbestos, and getting in touch with an asbestos claims attorney is a risk-free way to seek compensation as fast and easily as possible. Even for those who suffer from terminal asbestos cancer, compensation is still an important way to leave a legacy for loved ones. Asbestos trusts are a great place to start, and if you have any questions about these, our professionals can help you each step of the way.

[1]  Recent progress and perspectives on the mechanisms underlying Asbestos toxicity., Kuroda, A., 2021. Genes and Environment, 43, pp.1-8.

[2] El asbesto, American Lung Association website.

[3] About Free Radical Damage, Stephanie Liou, Stanford University ( Jun 29, 2011).

[4]  Arsenic, metals, fibres, and dusts., IARC Working Group on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans, 2012. IARC monographs on the evaluation of carcinogenic risks to humans, 100(PT C), p.11.

[5]  The current understanding of asbestos-induced epigenetic changes associated with lung cancer., Cheng, Y.Y., Rath, E.M., Linton, A., Yuen, M.L., Takahashi, K. and Lee, K., 2020. Lung Cancer: Targets and Therapy, pp.1-11.

[6]  Goswami, E., Craven, V., Dahlstrom, D.L., Alexander, D. and Mowat, F., 2013. Domestic asbestos exposure: a review of epidemiologic and exposure data. International journal of environmental research and public health, 10(11), pp.5629-5670.