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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Anonymous 0 Comments

There was a post a while back that was perhaps on r/whatsthisrock where the op found some mineral and cut it up on a chop saw. Turns out the stuff was something on par or worse than asbestos and they probably inhaled a toxic dose while cutting it. I can’t seem to find the post but would be interested to recap if somebody else could.

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