Asbestos
Asbestos is a mineral that used to be used a lot in construction. Breathing in asbestos particles can cause asbestosis (scarred lung tissue), lung cancer, mesothelioma (cancer of the lining of the lungs and chest) and other lung problems and cancers. Symptoms may not appear for up to 40 years.
Most at risk are those who have worked in construction, plumbing, railway construction and shipyards. Their families may also have been affected by the particles on their work clothes. People working in buildings constructed using asbestos such as schools and hospitals (nurses, teachers and children for example) may also have been put at risk.
Symptoms include persistent coughing, shortness of breath, chest pain and/or tightening, ridges or white streaks on the nails, and thickening of fingers and toes.
There is no cure.
There are three types of asbestos; amosite (brown asbestos), crocidolite (blue asbestos) and chrysotile (white asbestos). Brown and blue are banned in the UK. The UK Health and Safety Commission is looking at white asbestos. The safe removal of asbestos used in the past is a major problem.
Some court cases against employers whose workers have developed asbestos diseases have been successful.