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Question:

I've been exposed to Asbestos, how concerned should i be??

When i was a freshman in college we used to play volleyball in our room knocking the cottage cheese asbestos off of the ceiling. Sometimes the floor would be littered with it. Unfortunately at the time i did not know this was asbestos. We used to do this maybe 3 times a week or so. Id say about half the time our room was ventilated with windows open. I was in this room for 7 months.So im wondering how concerned should i be about getting lung cancer or Mesothamlimia. Ive read a bunch over the last week that you can get mesothalimia(sry spelling may be wrong) from 1-3 months exposure but theres not figures on how likely you are to get it. Does anyone have any thoughts on my chances of getting Mesothalimia or lung cancer? Thanks

Answer:

youll be fine, it takes years of working around it everyday for you to have a problem
There are 6 different forms of asbestos, and the mineral with the highly dangerous asbestos is vermiculite, which was used only for insulation and as an additive to potting soils and fertilizer. The type of asbestos used in popcorn ceilings came from a different type of mineral that is much less toxic, and the asbestos is generally bound together by paint and plaster, so very little dust was likely to be generated. It takes a large amount of exposure to non-vermiculite types of asbestos, so its unlikely that 7 months of exposure will cause any serious problems. Also, mesothelioma generally develops after many years of having asbestosis, which is inflammation of the lung from asbestos fibers that get embedded into the tissues. For the most part, you don't need to worry about mesothelioma unless you have asbestosis. Asbestos does not cause lung cancers besides mesothelioma.

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