Seminars Archive

Asbestos and Cancer

Abstract
Asbestos is a group of naturally occurring fibrous minerals found in ore-bearing rock obtained from an open pit or an underground mine. The fibres can be breathed into the lungs where they remain for decades. There are three commonly available types of asbestos; chrysotile (white asbestos), amosite (brown asbestos), and crocidolite (blue asbestos). All three have been associated with cancerous and non-cancerous lung disease. Asbestos is considered to be one of the most important single factor causing work-related fatalities. A new inter-disciplinary approach for the asbestos bodies characterization, leading to new hypotesis for their cancerogenecity, will be presented.