Why is asbestos so much more dangerous than other ‘sharp’ dusts like fibreglass?

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So asbestos is super dangerous to your lungs. It’s tiny, and sharp, so your lungs can’t remove it using mucus etc as it would with other dusts/particles.

*That makes sense.*

But what about fibreglass insulation – it’s tiny little super sharp glass fibres that (in my head) aren’t much different to fibreglass.

What about fine sand, or even diatomaceous earth which is famous for its ability to kill bugs/insects BECAUSE it’s super sharp on a micro level?

 

^For ^the ^flair, ^not ^sure ^if ^this ^is ^a ^biology, ^physics ^or ^chemstry ^question. ^I’m ^hoping ^’bio’ ^is ^OK.

^I ^just ^finished ^insulating ^the ^loft ^with ^my ^father-in-law. ^I ^wore ^a ^respirator, ^he ^didn’t ^(too ^’proud’?) ^- ^I’m ^fine, ^just ^itchy ^skin, ^but ^he’s ^had ^a ^bad ^cough ^for ^a ^few ^days.

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15 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

As someone who absorbed some Asbestos from when Brake Pads were made from Asbestos. I drove taxi, and every time you pulled up to the lights, you drove into a faint cloud of brake dust. Since cars then didn’t have air conditioners, you drove with windows open in summer and breathed it in. The upshot of that is CT Scan showed I have a pleural thickening in my lung caused by Asbestos. It may end turn into mesothelioma, or lung cancer or might just end up being benign. Either way it is what it is and I”m not worried.

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