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Chest X-ray is currently the most commonly used tool to detect asbestos-related diseases. While chest X-rays cannot detect asbestos fibers in the lungs, they can help identify early signs of lung disease from asbestos exposure . In 1933, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. physicians found that 29% of workers in a factory in Johns-Manville had asbestosis. In 1935, officials from Johns-Manville and Raybestos-Manhattan commissioned the editor of Asbestos magazine to publish nothing about asbestosis. In 1936, a group of asbestos companies agreed to sponsor research into the health effects of asbestos dust, but demanded that companies keep full control over the disclosure of the results. Asbestos can enter the air when materials containing asbestos are damaged or modified.

Materials containing undamaged asbestos do not pose a health risk. In asbestos-exposed workers who also smoke, the risk of lung cancer is even greater than adding the risks of these exposures separately. In the first half of the 20th century, increasing evidence showed that asbestos breathing caused scars in the lungs. Exposure to asbestos dust in the workplace was not monitored at the time. Beginning in England in the 1930s, steps were taken to protect workers in the asbestos industry by installing ventilation and exhaust systems.

The main ARDs are asbestosis, lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma. Cancer / lung abnormalities may include pleural abnormalities, bronchogenic carcinomas, including squamous cell carcinomas, small and large cell carcinoma and adenocarcinomas . In professionally exposed cohorts, excessive lung cancer may be greater than mesothelioma, but in communities the risk of ARD is mainly indicated by mesothelioma. Malignant mesothelioma of the pleura and peritoneum is, for practical purposes, only caused by asbestos or related elongated mineral particles and is not affected by smoking.

Asbestos fibers irritate and heal lung tissue, making the lungs stiff. Several studies have been conducted into the effects of asbestos exposure on the immune system. Most studies indicate that the function of the immune system is reduced in workers with asbestosis. It has not been established whether changes in immune function are the cause or effect of asbestosis.

However, in the massive shipbuilding efforts during World War II, large numbers of workers were exposed to high levels of asbestos. Many houses, schools and other buildings built before the 1970s have materials such as pipes and tiles containing asbestos. In general, there is no risk of exposure while asbestos is closed and hassle free. When materials containing asbestos are damaged, there is a risk that asbestos fibers will end up in the air and be inhaled. The most commonly used test to learn if you have been exposed to asbestos is a chest X-ray.

In workers exposed to asbestos who have not developed clinical signs of asbestosis, depressive immune function is mild or no changes have been observed. Even single exposure to asbestos can lead to asbestos-related diseases such as pleural thickening, lung cancer asbestos management or mesothelioma. The combination of smoking and exposure to asbestos poses an increased risk of developing lung cancer. Research shows that short-term exposure to asbestos has caused mesothelioma in people exposed at work and through second-hand exposure.

When materials containing asbestos are changed or damaged, the fibers end up in the air. These diseases will not immediately affect you; it often takes a long time for them to develop, but once diagnosed, it is often too late to do anything. These five examples illustrate the diverse characteristics of known risky communities. Other epidemiological and mineralogical studies are likely to increase the number of communities where high local risk is a serious problem.