Causes of Asbestosis

Causes of asbestosis

The only cause of asbestosis is - breathing in asbestosis fibres.

The immune system cannot break down the inhaled asbestos fibre to a harmless particle and remove from the body, which means the alveoli in the lungs become scarred and inflamed from the failed process. This called fibrosis.

The problem with the alveoli (the smallest branches in the lungs) becoming scarred and inflamed is that they are responsible for the carbon dioxide / oxygen exchange in the lungs and if this process stops working properly, then the lungs cannot oxygenate blood that is full of carbon dioxide and do not work effectively.

If many asbestosis fibres are inhaled over a period of time, this will scar and inflame many of the alveoli so that it makes it difficult for the lungs to work properly and eventually leads to severe fibrosis and even many types of cancer.

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Last reviewed: 27 October 2007 || Last updated: 15 March 2009

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