It is a mistake to believe that HTIW and asbestos are similar in their potential to cause damage to human health. There are several important reasons for this:
Asbestos splits longitudinally, producing long very thin fibres, whereas HTIW breaks (snaps) transversely, producing shorter thick fibres that are more readily removed from the lung.
Asbestos fibres are much more likely to become airborne than thicker, heavier HTIW fibres.
Asbestos – especially amphibole asbestos – is considerably more biopersistent in the lung than HTIW.
Exposed asbestos workers are at high risk of pulmonary fibrosis (asbestosis), lung cancer and mesothelioma. ASW/RCF workers so far show no increased risk whatever for these conditions.