How can asbestos affect children?
We do not know if exposure to asbestos will result in birth defects or other developmental effects in people. Birth defects have not been observed in animals exposed to asbestos. It is likely that health effects seen in children exposed to high levels of asbestos will be similar to the effects seen in adults.
This section discusses potential health effects from exposures during the period from conception to maturity at 18 years of age in humans. Asbestos exposure in both children and adults may occur while breathing air in or near buildings (public or private) containing asbestos building materials or near asbestos-related industrial operations. Children breathe differently and have different lung structures than adults. It is not known if these differences may cause a greater amount of asbestos fibers to stay in the lungs of a child when they are breathed in than in the lungs of an adult. Children drink more fluids per kilogram of body weight than adults and can also be exposed through asbestos-contaminated drinking water. Eating asbestos-contaminated soil and dust is another source of exposure for children. Certain children intentionally eat soil, and all young children eat more soil than adults through hand-to-mouth activities. Historically, family members have also been exposed to asbes
