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.

Fibrosis
A condition marked by the increase of connective, fibrous tissue.

Laparotomy
Abdominal exploration is a type of surgery where the abdomen is opened (laparotomy) and explored (exploratory laparotomy) for examination and treatment of problems. Might be used in relation to asbestos disease problems.

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

Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH)
The maximum environmental concentration of a contaminant from which one could escape within 30 minutes without any escape-impairing symptoms or irreversible health effects.

Bulk Sample
A sample of suspected asbestos-containing material that is obtained from a building to be analyzed microscopically for asbestos content. Bulk sample analysis can be part of a process to assess the hazard from asbestos in a building.

Acute Exposure
Exposure to a chemical for a duration of 14 days or less, as specified in the Toxicological Profiles.

Fibrogenic
Causing or contributing to the fibrotic response mechanism in tissues; commonly refers to substances that contribute to fibrosis of the lungs or liver.

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.

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)