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)

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

Recommended Exposure Limit (REL)
A National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) time-weighted average (TWA) concentrations for up to a 10-hour workday during a 40-hour workweek.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.