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Asbestos

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Overview

Exposure to asbestos can cause disabling and fatal diseases such as asbestosis, lung cancer, mesothelioma, and gastrointestinal cancer. The symptoms of these diseases generally do not appear for 20 years or more after exposure.

Asbestos fibers enter the body by inhaling or ingesting airborne particles that become embedded in the tissues of the respiratory or digestive systems. Most worker exposures occur during the removal of asbestos and the renovation and maintenance of buildings and structures that contain asbestos.

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Department of Environmental Quality - Asbestos abatement rules


 

Highlights

Many people believe that all products that contain asbestos are banned for use in the U.S. That is not true. Learn more about asbestos and how to protect workers in Oregon OSHA’s Asbestos – Rules of abatement

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