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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Asbestos tends to be shaped like a fish hook with “barbs” on the end of the fibre. So on top of being super small (way smaller than human hair) once it goes deep in your lungs it can penetrate and “hook” into the lungs. After years and years the scar tissue builds over this foreign object in your lungs. Other dusts are usually stuck in mucus and can br coughed out. Although working in high concentrations of insulation dust filled air can still cause lung and sinus complications over time as well.
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