Individual asbestos fibres are smaller than a human hair, and some are so small as to be invisible to the human eye. When an asbestos fiber lodges itself in a lung, the body's immune system tries to fight it. When an asbestos fiber gets into the lung, the macrophages try to absorb, or eat the fibres But remember, asbestos fibres are slivers of crystal rock, so last forever.
Asbestos fibres are released from asbestos containing materials (ACMs). The analyst looks through the microscope and counts the number of objects which meet the MDHS criteria of potential asbestos fibres Asbestos can be toxic. The inhalation of asbestos fibres can cause serious illnesses, including malignant lung cancer, mesothelioma. Asbestos with particularly fine fibres is also referred to as "amianthus". Most respirable asbestos fibres are invisible to the unaided human eye because their size is about 3.0–20.0 µm long and can be as thin as 0.01 µm.
