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

1.03K views

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.

In: 4960

15 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

With asbestos, the sharp parts break off, and turn into 100 new sharp parts, asbestos can repeat this process a dozen or so more times until the spires are the same size as your DNA and proteins, and can mess them up, leading to cancer

You are viewing 1 out of 15 answers, click here to view all answers.