Why is asbestos so dangerous?
Breathing in asbestos fibres can lead to asbestos related diseases -
- Asbestosis
- Mesothelioma
- Lung Cancer
The asbestos fibres are so small that they by-pass the normal respiratory defence mechanisms and are resistant to the body's defence cells and thus remain in the lungs. All of these diseases are extremely painful, inoperable, incurable and fatal. Death usually follows within months of diagnosis.
The health hazards of asbestos were first reported in 1898 and Britain was the first country to establish laws regulating exposure to asbestos. Asbestos fibres are assigned to the  highest category of carcinogen, Category 1, in the European Union.
Asbestos diseases kill more people than any other single work-related illness. Currently over 3,000 people are dying annually in the UK because they breathed in asbestos dust in the past. The Health and Safety Executive estimate that by the year 2025 the number of people dying due to asbestos exposure could reach 10,000 per year.
The delay between first being exposed to asbestos and diagnosis of illness can be between 15 and 40 years. People dying now were probably exposed to asbestos in the 1950's and 1960's. Many who will be dying in the years between 2010 and 2025 will have been exposed to asbestos in the 1980's and 1990's.
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About asbestos 
Danger of asbestos in the work place