Health effects of asbestos fibers in the air

Abstract

Since the beginning of the 20th century, thousands of tons of asbestos were used in all developed countries in industry and construction. After the serious illnesses and deaths caused by inhalation of asbestos fibers were reliably identified, the first asbestos use ban was prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1972. Asbestos in the last 100 years to blame for the death of a large number of workers in industry and construction as well as the population. According to the World Health Organization in the next 40 years in the world is expected to illness and death of more than 500 000 people as a consequence of inhaling airborne particles of asbestos. That fact has led to a complete ban on any use of asbestos in most countries. The paper is particularly pronounced approach applied in the US, according to which each of respirable difficult soluble fiber is considered fibrinogen, and every fiber diameter ≤1mm and length ≥10mm potentially fibrinogen and carcinogenic, and in Germany that any inorganic fiber diameter of 5mm and the ratio length and diameter of> 3: 1 is considered potentially carcinogenic. The question is whether it is justified to carcinogenic fibers prescribe and apply the limit values, and whether in BiH differently treated with carcinogens acting genotoxic than those operating epigenetic mechanisms.