Asbestos-Related Lung Diseases
Asbestos causes many health problems for humans. These problems are centered in the lungs, where particles of asbestos clog the tiny cells of the lungs. These diseases, such as pleural effusion, asbestosis, lung cancer, pleural plaques and malignant pleural mesothelioma, pose serious threats to the human respiratory system.
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Benign Pleural Effusion
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Benign pleural effusion liquids may build up inside the lungs of a person exposed to asbestos for long periods of time. Typically, the benign pleural effusion takes a long time after asbestos exposure to develop, sometimes more than 10 years. This mysterious condition may disappear and reappear after many years.
Asbestosis
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Asbestosis is contracted through long exposures to asbestos material. With the passage of time, some of the inhaled asbestos fibers cause lung inflammations if inhaled in large quantities. According to the CDC, most cases of asbestosis or lung cancer in workers took place 15 years or more after the person was exposed to asbestos. This condition may cause stiffness of the lungs, often known as fibrosis. This problem in turn significantly reduces the level of oxygen absorbed through the lungs, leading to asbestosis.
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Lung Cancer
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Lung cancers develop more frequently in construction workers who have been exposed to asbestos for a long time. If such a person also smokes, his chances of getting lung cancer are increased significantly. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more people die from lung cancer in the United States than any other type of cancer. In 2005, lung cancer killed more people than breast cancer, according to the CDC. The United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), World Health Organization and the Environmental Protection Agency have all classified asbestos as a human carcinogen and warned that inhalation of carcinogens in a large amount can increase your chances of developing lung cancer.
Pleural Plaques
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Pleural plaques may form in the lungs of a person who has been exposed to asbestos for long periods of time. Patches of thickening may show up on the chest walls of the asbestos-exposed person. The plaques may also show up on the membranes surrounding the lungs. It takes a long time before such plaques are visible on chest or lung x-rays.
Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
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Malignant pleural mesothelioma results from long-term exposure to asbestos. Many workers on construction sites who have been exposed to asbestos for a very long time develop malignant mesothelioma. This is another type of cancer that develops inside the pleural cells that cover the lung. This cancer could be a malignant growth measuring several centimeters in thickness.
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