How much asbestos exposure causes mesothelioma?
Over 2,700 people in the UK are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year. The deadly cancer is almost always caused by asbestos exposure, but it can take many decades from the time of exposure for it to appear. This can make it difficult to see the risk factors clearly.
So how much asbestos exposure will cause mesothelioma in the future? The answer isn't simple, but let's take a look at some of the facts thanks to information from Asbestos SOS in Darlington.
What is asbestos?
Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that was widely used from WW2 up until its ban in the 1990s. It was a popular building material because of its heat, temperature, sound, and chemical resistance. You would see asbestos in older buildings and:
Building construction
Shipbuilding
Motor industry
Household appliances
Power stations and telephone exchanges
Kitchen products
And more
Types of asbestos
The three most common types of asbestos are:
Crocidolite (blue asbestos)
Amosite (brown asbestos)
Chrysotile (white asbestos)
At one point, it was believed that only exposure to crocidolite or amosite asbestos was a risk factor for developing asbestos-related diseases. However, it has since been discovered that, while chrysotile asbestos is less dangerous, it can still cause mesothelioma and lung cancer. You need to use an accredited contractor when removing asbestos from your home or a renovation.
How does asbestos exposure lead to mesothelioma and lung cancer?
The use of asbestos was banned in the UK in the 1990s because its risk to human health was becoming increasingly clear.
When asbestos is disturbed, for example when it is used to build something, tiny asbestos fibres are released into the air. If you are working with this asbestos, then you will breathe those fibres in. They are so tiny that your body has trouble expelling them, so many of them will remain inside your body.
Specifically, they will often imbed themselves in the mesothelium, piercing the surface (the lining around some of your organs). This causes inflammation of the tissue.
Over many decades, often 15-60 years, this chronic inflammation can lead to genetic changes in the tissue, which can trigger the growth of malignant mesothelioma tumors.
The two most common types of mesothelioma are:
Pleural mesothelioma - this is when the fibres are embedded in your lungs
Peritoneal mesothelioma - this is when the fibers are embedded in your abdomen
Short-term vs long-term asbestos exposure
The vast majority of mesothelioma cases are caused by asbestos exposure. In total, 95% of the cases in men and 85% of the cases in women are triggered by asbestos.
Long-term exposure to asbestos
The greatest risk of developing mesothelioma is from prolonged asbestos exposure. This could mean having worked with asbestos on a daily basis for a long time. This is often seen in construction workers, military personnel who worked with asbestos as part of their service, engineering workers, and manufacturing workers.
There is what's known as a dose-response relationship between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma. This means that the higher the dose (of asbestos exposure), the greater the risk of developing mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.
Occupational asbestos exposure, therefore, creates a high risk of developing mesothelioma because the exposure levels are so high and prolonged.
Secondary exposure
There are also cases of prolonged secondary exposure to asbestos. When people who worked with asbestos came home at the end of each day, they would bring with them asbestos fibres that had attached to their clothes, hair, and skin. These fibres would then be released in the home and could be inhaled or ingested by their wives and children.
Short-term exposure to asbestos
Short-term exposure to asbestos is defined as a higher than normal exposure to asbestos fibers, one time or only a handful of times. The risk of developing mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases is much lower from short-term exposure than from long-term exposure, but it is not zero.
Any amount of asbestos exposure can leave fibres embedded in your lungs or abdomen that could trigger mesothelioma later in life, but some risk factors can make short-term asbestos exposure more dangerous.
Risk factors
High concentration of fibres - this could be from a demolition or natural disaster that creates a large asbestos fibre release in a small area
Asbestos fibre type - all types of asbestos fibres are dangerous but it is thought that blue and brown asbestos are more dangerous than white
Smoking - being a smoker is a risk factor that can lead to an increased risk of developing mesothelioma after short-term asbestos exposure
Age - age is a factor only because it can take so long for mesothelioma and lung cancer to appear. If you are exposed in your twenties, you have a greater risk of developing mesothelioma later on, whereas if you are exposed when you are much older, there may not be time for it to develop
Sex - pleural mesothelioma patients are more likely to be men, whereas peritoneal mesothelioma is equally as common in men and women
Family history of mesothelioma and lung cancer - if you have family members who have developed mesothelioma, you are at greater risk of developing it yourself after asbestos exposure
What to do if you are exposed to asbestos
There are low levels of asbestos everywhere. All people will encounter asbestos in their day-to-day lives. Short-term asbestos exposure is only relevant if you are exposed to a much higher-than-normal level. Common activities that could expose you to asbestos include:
Demolishing or remodelling an old building
Exploring an abandoned older building
Natural disasters that cause damage to older buildings
Working with an antique that contains asbestos and has become worn or damaged
If you believe that you may have been exposed to asbestos, you should get in touch with your GP. They may decide that you should be monitored to see if you start to develop mesothelioma, although this could take many decades.
Final thoughts
Mesothelioma patients come from all walks of life, but it is much more common for asbestos to cause this disease in people who worked with the substance regularly.
With that being said, although short-term exposure has less risk of causing mesothelioma, there is still a chance that it could. So it is best to avoid exposing yourself to asbestos, even if it is only brief exposures to the material.
Jenny Kakoudakis likes to blog about interiors. She launched award-winning Seasons in Colour in 2014 and the luxury interior design blog All The Pretty Homes in 2024.
When she is not chasing criminals out of the financial system (her day job), she gets creative by redecorating her own home.
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