What is Asbestosis? Information on Diffuse Pulmonary Fibrosis, Asbestos Lung Disease.

Asbestosis is caused by inhalation of asbestos fibers. It is not a cancerous lung disease. Asbestosis is a lung condition, often referred to as a Diffuse Pulmonary Fibrosis resulting from the inhalation of asbestos fibers. It is often categorized as an occupational lung disease or environmental lung disease. Considering that Asbestosis symptoms are often not so easy to detect, it is usually detected by x-ray findings and CT scans.

The air that we inhale always contains small particles. These particles are usually filtered out in nose and the bronchi -the airways leading down to the lungs. However, Asbestos particles (called amphiboles} being so long, extremely thin, microscopic, and glass-like light-weight fibers, they are not filtered out by the nose or the bronchi.

Asbestosis development begins when an amphibole is inhaled, and finds it's way into the lung. Amphibole travels deep into the lungs to one of the many millions of gas-exchanging structures called alveolus. Each alveolus has many cleaning cells called macrophages whose function is to destroy (eat-up) any particles that made it down to the alveoli. Unfortunately the macrophages are not capable to gobble-up the amphiboles. In trying to eat-up an amphibole, the macrophage essentially gets sliced open and the digestive molecules that are usually contained well-within the macrophages are spilled out into the alveolus. These particle-digestive molecules cause injury and scarring to the alveolus. This kind of scar formation is called fibrosis. The amphibole that remains so un-restructed attracts other macrophages, leading to further scarring of the lungs.

Considering that a typical asbestos exposure involves hundreds and thousands of amphiboles, the end result is usually a large-scale injury to the lungs. Such a large-scale asbestos inflicted injury involving significant lung damage (pulmonary fibrosis) is usually referred to as Asbestosis.

Asbestosis is usually found in people having a history of (direct or indirect) exposure to Asbestos. Direct exposure to Asbestos occurs to those that directly handle asbestos material at their job. This high risk group includes automobile (brakes, etc) mechanics, construction workers, shipyard workers, electricians, heating and melting furnace insulation workers, as well as workers in the construction industry. However, exposure to asbestos is not limited to only those who directly handle the material. Indirect exposure to Asbestos occurs to those that come in contact with workers having a direct exposure to asbestos. Asbestos fiber dust often gets carried home on workers' clothes and hair, and anyone (including members of their family) that comes in contact with such asbestos dust are also at risk of developing asbestosis.

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