Traditionally, asbestos was utilized in a wide spectrum of building materials, particularly materials which were intended to be heat and fire resistant. As long as asbestos-containing materials remain intact, they are not hazardous, but as they get damaged or break into smaller pieces, they can discharge asbestos dust, which people may end up inhaling.

What is asbestos dust?

Asbestos dust can be described as the fragmented elements of asbestos. It is proven that breathing in asbestos fibers can result in a number of asbestos associated diseases. Concerns about the safety of handling asbestos have led to a number of regulations and laws around processing the material and the removal of asbestos in order to eliminate – or at least significantly decrease - the danger of contaminating the air.  Asbestos dust may look like ordinary dust, or in most cases it is not even visible at all. Being exposed to the toxic fibers may lead to skin irritation because the particles penetrate through the skin.

Asbestos dust is difficult to identify. The most commonly seen asbestos products nowadays are found in construction insulation. Asbestos fibers are used in insulation products that serve as heat and fire resistant materials. Asbestos is friable, so it easily breaks up into smaller pieces. Asbestos dust particles are microscopically small. The dust particles are not more than one micrometer in diameter. In other words, a micrometer is equivalent to one millionth of a meter. Because the fibers are so small in size, asbestos dust can cause serious health risks. Many people have inhaled the contaminated air without knowing it.

As we just learned, the fibers of asbestos are extraordinarily small and virtually imperishable. The minute asbestos particles can get easily caught by the wind and distributed to large areas.  Some types of asbestos that can be broken up to dust that gets airborne, which is described as "friable". Asbestos that is "non-friable", will not crumble by hand pressure, hence it is less hazardous, but if handled or processed by a machine, for example during grinding projects or sanding, can also pose a serious health risk to anybody onsite.

From the moment a person has swallowed or inhaled the asbestos dust, the fibers can get lodged inside the body for several years or even decades, before they can cause serious damage to one’s health. As a result, a person may develop severe illnesses, including kidney cancer, mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.