ABSTRACT
Asbestos is or has been used in more than 5000 products. Longer, maximum-strength fibers are used in the production of textiles, electrical insulation, and pharmaceutical and beverage filters. Medium-length fibers are used in the production of asbestos-cement pipe and sheet, clutch facings, brake linings, asbestos paper, packaging, gaskets, and pipe coverings. Worker exposure is a concern in the mining and milling of asbestos, during the manufacture of all asbestos products, and in the construction and shipbuilding industries. The general population living in the vicinity of mines and processing plants may be unduly exposed to asbestos through a variety of sources and not only directly from emissions into the atmosphere. The presence of asbestos fibers in the lungs may result in a type of incapacitating fibrosis known as asbestosis. The provision for registration of cases of asbestosis involves the assessment of exhaustiveness to which this occupational disease is currently recognised and compensated.
