Pleural Disease

Asbestos-related pleural disease is another common condition caused by exposure to asbestos. Pleural disease may consist of "plaques" on or thickening of the lining of the lung, or the lung pleura. Pleural disease may also take the form of a pleural "effusion." Like asbestosis and other forms of asbestos-related diseases, pleural disease is a latent disease. This means that pleural disease typically does not develop until many years after a person's initial exposure to asbestos.