Ingestion of asbestos is not a major route of exposure. Ingestion of asbestos may
accompany inhalation due to fibres being cleared from the respiratory tract by mucocilliary
action. Few ingested fibres pass through the wall of the gastrointestinal tract and reach the
blood, lymph and urine hence most will be excreted in the faeces. Therefore the risk of noncarcinogenic
injury to the lungs, heart, liver, kidney or skin following absorption from the GI
tract is minimal [2, 4]. However, animal studies reported fibres in kidney, liver, brain, heart
and spleen of rats fed only an asbestos-containing diet, supporting the hypothesis that fibres
may pass though the gastrointestinal tract