Asbestos Terms Glossary

Actinolite
Actinolite is the intermediate member; when iron is predominant the mineral is ferro-actinolite and when magnesium is predominant, the mineral is tremolite. The iron produces a green color that darkens as the iron content increases. Actinolite may occur in fibrous form (an asbestos). It is not used commercially, but is a common impurity in chrysotile asbestos.

ACTS
Asbestos Contractor Tracking System - Asbestos Demolition/ Renovation, and Asbestos Contractor Tracking System in some states is an EPA system

Acute Exposure
Exposure to a chemical for a duration of 14 days or less, as specified in the Toxicological Profiles.

• If you think you may have been injured by asbestos exposure, please consult with an Asbestos Lawyer near you to discuss the details of your case. This website is for informational purposes only, and nothing stated here should be taken as legal advice.

Adenocarcinoma
Adenocarcinoma of the lung is a type of lung cancer. Like other cancers, adenocarcinoma is the growth of abnormal cells. These cancerous cells multiply out of control, and form a tumor. As the tumor grows, it destroys parts of the lung. Eventually, the tumor's abnormal cells can spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body, including the brain.

Alimta (pemetrexed for injection)
Alimta is a new cancer drug used to treat malignant pleural mesothelioma. Alimta is given with cisplatin, another anti-cancer medicine.

Amosite
A type of asbestos in the amphibole group; it is also known as brown asbestos.

Anthophyllite
A type of asbestos in the amphibole group; it is also known as azbolen asbestos.

Asbestiform
Possessing the properties of asbestos. Minerals of specific chemical compositions can have asbestiform varieties that are fibrous in nature (e.g., crocidolite and amosite are the asbestiform varieties of the amphibole minerals, reibeckite and grunerite; tremolite and actinolite may be either asbestiform or nonasbestiform)

Asbestos Containing Material (ACM).
Any material or product that contains more than one percent asbestos.

Asbestosis
A chronic lung disease, resulting from the scarring of the lung tissues by asbestos fibers.

Bronchial Lung Cancer
Malignant tumor of the bronchial tubes, this disease is more common than Asbestosis & Fibrosis.

Bulk Sample
A sample of suspected asbestos-containing material that is obtained from a building to be analyzed microscopically for asbestos content. Bulk sample analysis can be part of a process to assess the hazard from asbestos in a building.

Cancer Effect Level (CEL)
The lowest dose of chemical in a study, or group of studies, that produces significant increases in the incidence of cancer (or tumors) between the exposed population and its appropriate control.

Class IV asbestos work
Means maintenance and custodial activities during which employees contact but do not disturb ACM or PACM and activities to clean up dust, waste and debris resulting from Class I, II, and III activities.

Chrysotile Asbestos
A fibrous member of the serpentine group of minerals. Chrysotile asbestos fibers are flexible and have a curved morphology. It is the most common form of asbestos used commercially, also referred to as white asbestos.

Crocidolite asbestos
One of the six types of asbestos. Crocidolite or "blue asbestos," is found in specialized high temperature applications.

Dose-Response Relationship
The quantitative relationship between the amount of exposure to a toxicant and the incidence of the adverse effects.

• If you think you may have been injured by asbestos exposure, please consult with an Asbestos Lawyer near you to discuss the details of your case. This website is for informational purposes only, and nothing stated here should be taken as legal advice.

Excursion Limit (EL)
1 Fiber per cubic centimeter averaged over a 30 minute sampling period.

Fibrogenic
Causing or contributing to the fibrotic response mechanism in tissues; commonly refers to substances that contribute to fibrosis of the lungs or liver.

Fibrosis
A condition marked by the increase of connective, fibrous tissue.

Friable asbestos
Any material containing more than one percent asbestos, and that can be crumbled or reduced to powder by hand pressure. (May include previously non-friable material which becomes broken or damaged by mechanical force.)

Hazardous Air Pollutants
Air pollutants that are not covered by ambient air quality standards but which, as defined in the Clean Air Act, may reasonably be expected to cause or contribute to irreversible illness or death. Such pollutants include asbestos, beryllium, mercury, benzene, coke oven emissions, radionuclides, and vinyl chloride.

Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH)
The maximum environmental concentration of a contaminant from which one could escape within 30 minutes without any escape-impairing symptoms or irreversible health effects.

Immunologic Toxicity
The occurrence of adverse effects on the immune system that may result from exposure to environmental agents such as chemicals.

Intermediate Exposure
Exposure to a chemical for a duration of 15-364 days, as specified in the Toxicological Profiles.

Laparotomy
Abdominal exploration is a type of surgery where the abdomen is opened (laparotomy) and explored (exploratory laparotomy) for examination and treatment of problems. Might be used in relation to asbestos disease problems.

Lethal Concentration(50) (LC50)
A calculated concentration of a chemical in air to which exposure for a specific length of time is expected to cause death in 50% of a defined experimental animal population.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma
Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a type of cancer that affects the inside lining of the chest cavity. It is usually associated with asbestos exposure.

Minimal Risk Level (MRL)
An estimate of daily human exposure to a hazardous substance that is likely to be without an appreciable risk of adverse noncancer health effects over a specified route and duration of exposure.

• If you think you may have been injured by asbestos exposure, please consult with an Asbestos Lawyer near you to discuss the details of your case. This website is for informational purposes only, and nothing stated here should be taken as legal advice.

Parenchymal fibrosis
It is easily conceivable that prolonged retention of some types of minerals in the lung would be a stimulating factor for inflammatory and neoplastic processes, leading in turn to parenchymal fibrosis and peripheral cancer.

Pericardial mesothelioma
Pericardial mesothelioma is a highly lethal and fortunately rare cardiac neoplasm

Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL)
An Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) allowable exposure level in workplace air averaged over an 8-hour shift of a 40 hour workweek.

Pleural effusion
A pleural effusion is an accumulation of fluid between the layers of the membrane that lines the lungs and chest cavity.

RACM
Regulated Asbestos-Containing Material is (a) friable asbestos material, (b) Category I non-friable ACM that has become friable, (c) Category I non-friable ACM that will be or has been subjected to sanding, grinding, cutting or abrading, or (d) Category II non-friable ACM that has a high probability of becoming or has become crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder by the forces expected to act on the material in the course of demolition or renovation operations.

Risk Ratio
The ratio of the risk among persons with specific risk factors compared to the risk among persons without risk factors. A risk ratio greater than 1 indicates greater risk of disease in the exposed group compared to the unexposed.

Serpentine
In the asbestos varieties, the brucite and silicate layers bend into tubers that produce the fibers. Chrysotile asbestos is a fibrous member of the serpentine group. "Serpentine" comes from mottled shades of green on massive varieties, suggestive of snake markings.

Stage 1 Mesothelioma
Stage 1 mesothelioma affects one layer of the pleura only. It may have grown into the covering of the heart (pericardium) and the diaphragm

Stage 2 Mesothelioma
Stage 2 mesothelioma has spread to both layers of the pleura on one side of the body only

Stage 3 Mesothelioma
Stage 3 mesothelioma has spread to the chest wall, food pipe (oesophagus) or lymph nodes on the same side of the chest

Stage 4 Mesothelioma
Stage 4 mesothelioma has spread via the bloodstream to other organs in the body such as the liver, brain or bone or to lymph nodes on the other side of the chest

Suspect material
Building material suspected of containing asbestos, e.g., surfacing material, floor tile, ceiling tile, thermal system insulation, and miscellaneous other materials.

Tremolite
Tremolite may occur in fibrous form (an asbestos). It is not used commercially in the United States, but is a common impurity in chrysotile asbestos and vermiculite mined from deposits in Libby, Montana.

Vermiculite
A chemically inert, lightweight, fire resistant, and odorless magnesium silicate material that is generally used for its thermal and sound insulation in construction and for its absorbent properties in horticultural applications. Vermiculite mined from Libby, Montana has been demonstrated to contain various amounts of asbestiform tremolite-like amphibole minerals.

If you have ever been exposed to asbestos directly or indirectly, you may need an attorney specializing in the field of Asbestos and Asbestos related litigiation.

• If you think you may have been injured by asbestos exposure, please consult with an Asbestos Lawyer near you to discuss the details of your case. This website is for informational purposes only, and nothing stated here should be taken as legal advice.