In the composition of asbestos type brake pads, asbestos account for 40-60%, but people are now finding that most asbestos has potential harm, asbestos has been confirmed by the medical profession is carcinogenic substance, the acicular fiber easily into the lungs and stay, cause stimulation, ultimately lead to the occurrence of lung cancer, but the condition the incubation period can be for 15 to 30 years, So people often don't recognize the dangers caused by asbestos.
Asbestos fibres will not pose a health hazard to workers as long as they are fixed by the friction material itself, but when asbestos fibres are released with brake friction forming brake dust, they can be the source of a number of health effects.
According to the American association of occupational safety and health (OSHA) to test, each on a conventional friction test, the brake pads can produce millions of asbestos fiber send out into the air, and far less than a human hair, the fibers are visible to the naked eye cannot be observed, so a person breathing may absorb hundreds of thousands of asbestos fiber and people without notice. Similarly, if the brake dust is blown away from the brake drum or brake components with an air pipe, countless asbestos fibers can be blown into the air, and this dust will not only affect the health of the technician, but also cause health damage to any other personnel present. Even something as simple as hitting a brake drum with a hammer to loosen it, allowing the dust inside to escape, can produce large quantities of asbestos fibres wafting into the air. Even more worrying: Once the fibers stay airborne for hours, they can then stick to clothes, desktops, tools -- just about any surface you can think of. They will float back into the air whenever there is agitation (such as air flow from cleaning, walking, or using pneumatic tools). Often, once this material gets into the work environment, it can stay there for months or even years, causing potential health effects for people working there and even customers.