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Regulation on the <strong>Production</strong>, <strong>Importation</strong>, <strong>Handling</strong>, <strong>Sale</strong>, <strong>Segregation</strong>, <strong>Transportation</strong>, <strong>Use</strong>, <strong>Storage</strong>, and <strong>Trade in and Disposal</strong> of Asbestos and Materials containing Asbestos in Liberia

<strong>Definitions</strong>

<strong>Asbestos:-</strong> Asbestos is the name given to a number of naturally occurring fibrous minerals with high tensile strength, the ability to be woven, and resistance to heat ad most chemicals. In most developed countries, including America, Asbestos is defined as the asbestiform varieties of chrysotile *serpentine); crocidolite (riebeckite); amosite (cummingtonite/grunerite); anthophyilite; tremolite; and actinolite. Any substance or material therefore containing 1% or more of any of the asbestiform varieties specified above is asbestos.

<strong>Asbestos fiber:</strong>-a particle of asbestos that is not less than 5 micrometers in length, and is less than 3 micrometers in width, and has a length to width ratio of not less than 3:1.

<strong>Health Effects of Exposure to Asbestos</strong>

Exposure to airborne friable asbestos may result in a potential health risk because persons breathing the air may breathe in asbestos fibers. Continual exposure to asbestos can increase the amount of fibers that remain in the lung. Fibers embedded in the lung tissue over time may cause serious lung diseases, including asbestos, lung cancer, or mesothelioma. Smoking increases the risk of developing illness from exposure to asbestos.

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